Google's AI Hardware: The $250/mo Platform Tax for Founders

Your AI stack just got more expensive—and more powerful. Google I/O 2025 wasn't just software announcements. It revealed where AI will physically live, how users will interact with it, and critically, what Google charges for access to frontier capabilities. For AI founders and CTOs, this signals a fundamental shift: hardware platforms are becoming the new distribution layer, and subscription tiers are gatekeeping the tools that differentiate your product. Beyond the Screen: Google's AI Hardware Horizon and Your Next Platform Google I/O 2025 wasn't just about software; it dropped significant hints about where AI will live and how users will interact with it in the physical world. For AI founders, new hardware platforms mean new ecosystems, new user behaviors, and potentially, entirely new categories of applications. Android XR and the Smart Glasses Renaissance - AI You Can Wear Google is making a serious play for Extended Reality (XR) with its Android XR platform . The vision is clear: