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1288 interviews since 2009

A picture of Nirav Patel

Nirav Patel

CEO (Framework)

in hardware, linux, windows

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm the Founder and CEO of Framework, and I'm on a mission to remake consumer electronics to respect people and the planet. Specifically, I started Framework to build products that last longer by making them easy to repair and upgrade. We're just over three years in, and making great progress!

What hardware do you use?

This is an easy one. I use hardware that we make. Usually, I'm dogfooding whichever product we're going to launch next. Currently, I'm switching back and forth between a Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series) and a Framework Laptop 16.

Aside from laptops, I currently use an iPhone 12 that has at least one repair using replacement parts from iFixit. I spent three years as an Engineer at Apple, so I'm stuck on iPhones by habit. I started and led the hardware team at Oculus. Oculus Quest 2 was the last product I led the architecture of before leaving to start Framework, and that is another device I use regularly. My current favorite headphones are Bushmills x Grado, made from old whisky barrels.

Apart from gadgets, there are some hardware tools I like and use regularly. Mitutoyo calipers, a Fluke multimeter, a dirt cheap Rigol oscilloscope, a Pace soldering station, and a Prusa MK3 3D printer.

And what software?

Currently, I'm mostly using software that doesn't bring me joy. Because most of the engineers in Framework run Ubuntu, Fedora, or NixOS, I'm doing my dogfooding on Windows 11. I spend most of my time in various parts of Google Workspace these days, but occasionally I get to have fun in OpenSCAD and KiCAD making open source hardware reference designs for modules.

What would be your dream setup?

I'm fortunate to be in a position where it doesn't have to be a dream! We started with laptops, but our vision is to bring this mission to all of consumer electronics, one category at a time. I can't share what those are just yet, but you can imagine some of the categories I mentioned in the second question being there.