Nothing has captured the stock market quite like the advent of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). It is being integrated into almost every website the average internet user visits. Predictions put the percentage of internet content that was A.I. generated at 50% or more. 32% of the S&P 500 and 41% of the total market capitalization is due to the same 10 A.I. companies. Yet, I still haven’t told you the worst part: vibrator prices are probably going up.
Lithium-ion batteries have become an industry standard for rechargeable sex toys and many other rechargeable products. A.I. companies are relying on the same style of battery, at much larger sizes. In June 2025, lithium cost $60,200 per ton. In February 2026, lithium rose to $161,750 per ton. That is an increase of more than $100,000. Similarly, the cost of circuit boards, a major component in both A.I. and vibrators, has risen more than 30% since 2020. The rising costs of these components are only going to lead to an increased cost of certain sex toys, specifically the more technologically advanced models. This is going to hit American-made brands the most as a combination of tariffs and rising component costs impacts every part of the technology sector.
Even components not found in your average to expensive vibrator models are rising in price. Central processing units (CPUs) are an essential part of any device that requires a connection to the internet. Yet CPU prices are predicted to rise up to 15% this year alone. This is substantial, as CPUs are found in a variety of products you use every day: computers, phones, and smart home devices. Outside of the average person’s technology use, CPUs are used in a variety of very important ways, from medical devices to manufacturing to security systems. As the cost of these parts increases, the cost of the devices and services they provide will also increase.
This same pattern is continuing across a variety of other components required for the technology people use on a daily basis. Some types of random-access memory (RAM) have increased by more than 300%. RAM is an essential component for the memory of devices. Other types of memory, such as solid-state drives (SSDs), have also increased dramatically in price over the last few years. Together, the increased price of these components is raising the costs of a variety of consumer devices. Computer prices are expected to rise by upwards of 25% as a result.
Industry experts believe that this rise in cost is almost entirely attributable to the demands of A.I. Companies like Meta, OpenAI, and Google need an excessive amount of storage and computing capacity to host their large language models (LLMs) and other generative A.I. models. Currently, A.I. is using upwards of 15% of all data center power, and it is estimated that the number will reach over 50% by 2030. These major A.I. companies have been fighting over essential computer parts, completely cutting the consumer off from the ability to regulate the costs. The question is no longer how much the average person is willing to pay for a computer or a stick of RAM; instead, it is how much the consumer will have to pay.
It is unlikely that the price of computer parts will fall anytime soon. Even if the theorized A.I. bubble pops in the near future, that will not bring the price down, as many of the companies tied into the bubble are the same companies making the essential components. The only way around this problem seems to be more regulations on how much these parts can be sold for. However, limiting the price will not lower the human cost associated with mining the rare earth minerals used in the creation of these components.
No matter how one frames this issue, no one but the A.I. companies is benefiting from this situation. Consumer prices are skyrocketing for a “revolution” that the majority of people are neutral to negative about. It is a “revolution” that has done little more than continue the trend of syphoning the wealth from the poorest to the wealthiest.
