Why OLPC’s $100 laptop never stood a chance

On Version History: David Imel and Adi Robertson debate if the OLPC XO-1 was innovative hardware or just a bad idea.

On Version History: David Imel and Adi Robertson debate if the OLPC XO-1 was innovative hardware or just a bad idea.

by

Verge Staff

Sep 27, 2026, 12:25 PM UTC

The idea was big, exciting, and inspiring: What if we could get every kid in the world access to a computer? For a bunch of thinkers and executives in Silicon Valley, it felt like the way to fix everything. But the One Laptop Per Child initiative, and the XO-1 laptop designed to be given away, were both more complicated than anyone expected.

In the next episode ofVersion History,David Pierce is joined byThe Verge’s Adi Robertson and tech journalist David Imel to figure out why OLPC didn’t work, whether there’s anything to learn from the XO-1’s innovative design, and if this kind of computer giveaway could ever succeed.

We’re halfway through the fifth season ofVersion Historyand we’ve been touring the educational tech icons in schools. If you missed hearing from the lead game designer ofOregon Trailor just how muchThe Verge’s Nilay Patel loved his TI-82 graphing calculator, check out those episodes here: :

If you’re aVergesubscriber, you can alsoget access toVersion History(and all our other podcasts) with no ads. All you have to do isvisit your account settings.

If you want to know more about OLPC history, here are some links to get you started:

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