According to Neowin, Meta has acquired the artificial intelligence startup Limitless, the company behind the AI-powered Limitless Pendant wearable. The acquisition immediately ends all sales of the Pendant to new customers. For existing customers, support is guaranteed for at least one more year, and the paid Unlimited Plan subscription is now free. However, the company’s Rewind app will sunset, with all screen and audio capture disabled starting December 19, 2025. Furthermore, the entire Limitless service will end in several regions, including the EU, UK, Brazil, and South Korea, by that same December 2025 date. Users are advised to export their data via the Help Center.
Meta Wants The Brains, Not The Bracelet
Here’s the thing: this isn’t really about the Pendant hardware. That elegant little wearable was cool, but it’s basically a casualty of the deal. Meta didn’t buy Limitless to become a boutique hardware shop. They bought the team, the AI tech, and the vision. The announcement talks about building “incredible AI-enabled wearables” and “personal superintelligence.” That’s the real prize. Meta is in a full-blown arms race with OpenAI, which is reportedly working on its own wearable device with Apple design legend Jony Ive. So Meta just acquired a squad that’s already been thinking about this problem for years. It’s a talent and IP acquisition, plain and simple. The hardware was just a proof-of-concept they can now scrap.
What Happens To The Customers?
Look, if you bought a Pendant, this is a mixed bag. On one hand, you’re getting your subscription for free and a year of support. That’s decent. But let’s be real, your device is now a zombie product. It has an expiration date. The company is telling you to check their site for updates, but the roadmap leads to a cliff. And that bit about having to agree to an updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service? That’s your data moving under Meta’s umbrella. They say it’s safe, and they’ve added easy export/delete tools, but that feels like a direct acknowledgment of the trust issue. I mean, would you trust Meta with your ambient meeting recordings? Exactly. The prompt to download your transcripts isn’t a suggestion; it’s an urgent recommendation.
The Bigger AI Wearables War
So what does this tell us about the market? It confirms that the next major battleground is AI hardware that lives on your body. It’s not just about chatbots on your phone anymore. It’s about always-on, context-aware assistants. Meta, with its Ray-Ban smart glasses and now this Limitless tech, is betting big on an audio-first, ambient computing future. OpenAI and Jony Ive are probably thinking along similar lines. This acquisition takes a potential competitor off the board and brings their R&D in-house. For other small startups in this space, it’s a clear signal: innovate and you might get bought, but your product will likely get killed. The giants aren’t looking for your device; they’re looking for your secret sauce to bake into their own, much larger platforms. The era of the standalone AI wearable from a small company just got a lot harder.
