Qualcomm acquires Arduino: A shock deal that sparks skepticism in the open-source community
The acquisition raises questions about the future of open-source hardware (Open Source Hardware).
On October 7, the world of hardware technology was shaken by news that came like a bolt from the blue. Qualcomm, the technology giant behind Snapdragon chips, announced that it is acquiring Arduino, the Italian company popular for its open-source microcontrollers and educational starter kits.
The deal, done without any prior rumors – a rarity in the tech world of 2025 – left Arduino fans and developers deeply concerned. What does it mean for the open-source philosophy?
“It was a huge surprise. Them being bought by a giant like Qualcomm just blew me away. I don't think anyone saw it coming,” commented Alex Norman, a battery management systems designer from the EETEngineer YouTube channel.
A new board as reassurance: Arduino Uno Q
Probably in response to the expected skepticism, the acquisition was announced together with the launch of a new board: the Arduino Uno Q. It combines a Qualcomm Snapdragon system-on-chip (SoC) called Dragonwing with a traditional Arduino microcontroller.
Manvinder Singh, Qualcomm's vice president of industrial IoT, said that for the first time the company will make the Dragonwing SoC available for end users to buy in small quantities, an important concession to the community.
From a bar in Ivrea to a global phenomenon
Founded in 2005, Arduino quickly became synonymous with accessible electronics prototyping. With cheap hardware and an easy-to-program variant of C++, the company sold over 10 million boards by 2021, becoming a cornerstone of education and hobby projects.
At first glance, the merger looks odd: Qualcomm sells expensive, high-performance chips, while Arduino is known for low-cost microcontrollers. Analyst Leonard Lee notes that the deal is part of Qualcomm's strategy to strengthen its presence in low-cost electronics and in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
The Arduino acquisition, following Edge Impulse (AI models) and Foundries.io (IoT infrastructure), aims to tap into the huge community of 36 million Arduino developers. Qualcomm's goal is to create an ecosystem where developers can build, prototype and scale IoT devices with minimal help from the giant.
The community's concerns and management's response
Despite the promises, discontent prevails in the open-source community (open source community). Jeff Geerling, a well-known YouTuber, covered the purchase in a widely watched video with mostly negative comments.
There are two concerns:
- A change of culture: The fear that Qualcomm will shift Arduino's focus toward industrial and corporate projects at the expense of education and experimentation.
- Accessibility: Skepticism that Qualcomm chips will be easily available to individuals building DIY (do-it-yourself) projects, since Qualcomm is primarily a B2B company.
In response, Arduino CEO Fabio Violante was categorical: “Arduino was born open and will stay open.” He gave assurances that the licenses, software and support for boards using chips from other vendors will be preserved.
The new era with Uno Q and AI
The Uno Q board marks a major change. It has a Qualcomm Dragonwing SoC, up to 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage, which lets it run Linux and function as a single-board computer (similar to a Raspberry Pi, but more affordable).
Also introduced was the new App Lab development environment, which uses Dragonwing's integrated Adreno GPU for light AI tasks. App Lab provides “bricks” with built-in AI models, making development easier.
It remains to be seen whether this bold move will win the community's trust. As Lee puts it: “The last thing I think Qualcomm wants to do is undermine the developer community, because it can disappear in an instant if you make the wrong move.”
On the Artec Robotics “News” page you will find a variety of articles and guides on robotics and automation. Here you'll find useful information about the latest technologies, software solutions and programs. They will help you dive deeper into the world of industrial robots and automated systems.
Follow the news from Artec Robotics!
MAKE AN INQUIRY
