What I meant was: Why would System76 failing affect Purism (negatively)? I understand that there's some correlation as they're both targeting a similar audience, but it doesn't seem to me like they depend too much on one another.
System76 is one of the few Linux-first hardware companies. Dell and Lenovo do this but as an aside. System76 is 100% Linux.
If there were an entire ecosystem of Linux-first open hardware developers, Purism could simply provide a few hardware and software tweaks (ie hw switches for wifi) for enhanced privacy.
The problem is Purism is forced to bear the weight of being one of the few open hw/sw vendors AND all the additional anti-surveillance pieces too.
Curious if this explanation helped you.