Software companies releasing keyboards = peak midlife crisis energy.
Microsoft kicked this off in 1994 with the Natural Keyboard—engineers who should've been optimizing Windows spent time debating keycap travel and ergonomic curves. Sold okay, but bled money. Resources that could've gone into Office or early Azure instead funded injection molding and supply chain nightmares.
The pattern: software scales via patches and updates. Hardware means dealing with physical defects, returns, logistics, and manufacturing hell. A Michelin chef opening a hot dog stand because they perfected the mustard recipe.
Now AI companies are doing the same thing. If your core competency is training models or building APIs, why are you suddenly prototyping mechanical switches? It's a distraction dressed up as "ecosystem expansion."
Zune, Microsoft Band, and now keyboards—all symptoms of "we can do hardware too" syndrome. Talent gets diverted from core engineering to argue about palm rest angles.
If an AI startup announces a keyboard, it's not innovation—it's a red flag that they've lost focus on what actually matters: the software that scales.
Microsoft kicked this off in 1994 with the Natural Keyboard—engineers who should've been optimizing Windows spent time debating keycap travel and ergonomic curves. Sold okay, but bled money. Resources that could've gone into Office or early Azure instead funded injection molding and supply chain nightmares.
The pattern: software scales via patches and updates. Hardware means dealing with physical defects, returns, logistics, and manufacturing hell. A Michelin chef opening a hot dog stand because they perfected the mustard recipe.
Now AI companies are doing the same thing. If your core competency is training models or building APIs, why are you suddenly prototyping mechanical switches? It's a distraction dressed up as "ecosystem expansion."
Zune, Microsoft Band, and now keyboards—all symptoms of "we can do hardware too" syndrome. Talent gets diverted from core engineering to argue about palm rest angles.
If an AI startup announces a keyboard, it's not innovation—it's a red flag that they've lost focus on what actually matters: the software that scales.