The XO laptop is designed as part of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, a non-profit organisation created by MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte in 2002. The XO was designed to withstand varying weather and environmental conditions, with no hard drive and only two internal cables as research by Fuseproject, the design partner appointed by OLPC, found that these were the two elements most likely to fail.

The casing has two green 'ears' that act as Wi-Fi antennae, appealing to children, and a rechargeable battery provides up to 22.8 Watt-hours. The screen pivots around so that the laptop can be used as an eBook reader, while the keyboard is a single rubberised sheet to prevent dust and water entering, with smaller keys than a normal keyboard, again designed for children.

The XO laptop is designed to operate as part of a communal open network allowing the distribution of knowledge and learning through open-source applications and software. The laptops have Wi-Fi antenna that are three times as powerful as a standard laptop and can create a mesh network where if one laptop is connected to a network, all others nearby can connect to this first laptop and share this network too. The laptops can run on both Linux and Windows XP operating systems.

The Fuseproject agency was founded by Yves Béhar in San Francisco in 1999. Béhar was born in Switzerland and was educated in Europe and in the US. His work was featured in monographic exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Museé de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains in Lausanne in 2004. The following year he was appointed chair of the Industrial Design programme at the California College of the Arts, a position he currently holds. Fuseproject has worked with Herman Miller, Puma, Swarovski, Danese, BMW Mini and Coca Cola.