Frontend cloud platform whose AI SDK has become a standard way to ship streaming, multimodal AI experiences in JavaScript and TypeScript. By 2026, Vercel + the
Vercel is the frontend cloud of the AI era: Next.js hosting with edge infrastructure, the AI SDK that became the standard for streaming AI UIs, and AI Gateway/marketplace features, where AI product frontends get built and shipped by default.
Pricing: Hobby free; Pro ~$20/user/month plus usage; Enterprise via sales; AI Gateway usage-based (published pricing, mid-2026).
The annoying 80% of AI UIs: streaming, tool-call rendering, provider abstraction, and state, in typed React primitives. It's why most new AI products' frontends look Vercel-shaped.
Code stays portable (Next.js/openish SDK); the lock-in is operational convenience and edge features. Teams mitigate with standard patterns and exit plans, but few exit.