Prices of memory, storage, and silicon keep rising as the likes of OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google burn through stock of components at an unprecedented pace to build out AI infrastructure. Framework CEO Nirav Patel warns that consumers are the ones getting left in the dust in this “winner-take-all race to an AI-first world,” and, at this rate, “there is a very real scenario in which personal computing as we know it is dead.”
He said as much in a self-described manifesto posted this week announcing the company’s Framework [Next Gen] Event 2026 on April 21. For the uninitiated, Framework specializes in modular laptops that prioritize upgradeability and repairability. Despite Framework’s achievements in pushing for a more repairable, upgradable, and customizable laptop ecosystem, the rising costs of computer components paint a grim picture at the consumer level. One where your average PC user has less agency than ever before.
“The industry is asking you to own nothing and be happy,” Patel said. “Computers are no longer a bicycle for the mind. They are becoming the self-driving car that takes you directly to the destination.”
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Framework pushes back
At the heart of this industry upset is the enormous strain that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has placed on computing and related resources. Data centers need vast quantities of server processors and memory to support AI agents, and tech giants are gobbling up available resources to fuel them. To keep up with the surging demand from AI data centers, leading memory manufacturers are reallocating production toward stacked high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server-grade DDR5, which leaves only so much capacity for consumer devices and mainstream systems. This year, AI-centric memory is projected to consume 70% of global memory hardware production, according to TrendForce, a Taiwan-based industry analysis and consulting firm that tracks the semiconductor industry.
The result? PC component prices have climbed far beyond what most enthusiasts can reasonably afford.
“It’s clear that the fundamentals of computing and electronics have changed,” Patel said. “The computer in the cloud has increasingly greater economic output than the computer in the hand. This means that to the extent that there are constraints on the supply that feeds both, the cloud will win every time.”
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. He ended the post by stating: “No matter how inevitable the AI-takes-all scenario may sound, as long as there is a person in the world who still wants to own their means of computation, we will be here to build the hardware that enables it. That means computers that you can own at the deepest level and do what you want with.
“Whether that is choosing your OS, modifying your hardware, or even just keeping your data and computation local rather than leased from the cloud. We won’t get there all at once, but we will always be fighting for a future where you can own everything and be free.”
It’s not clear just yet what Framework plans to unveil on April 21, but this scathing manifesto is undoubtedly aimed at getting eyes on its event to build hype for whatever it’s cooking up. Announcements will be unveiled on Framework’s YouTube channel, Patel said, and the company plans to open up invitations to the Framework community to get their hands on the newest products.
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