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Rich [soylentnews.org] writes:

Qualcomm on Tuesday said it has acquired Arduino, an Italian not-for-profit firm that makes hardware and software for developing prototypes of robots and other electronic gadgets, Reuters reports at https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/qualcomm-buys-open-source-electronics-firm-arduino-2025-10-07/ [reuters.com].

Arduino's own announcement can be found at https://blog.arduino.cc/2025/10/07/a-new-chapter-for-arduino-with-qualcomm-uno-q-and-you/ [arduino.cc].

Along with the news that might confuse those that could not imagine "Arduino" itself as a tangible sales item, Arduino introduced a new model in the Uno form factor that comprises a Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 to run Linux, an STM32U585 microcontroller for hardware interfacing, and some new high density connector on the bottom side. It is priced at $44 in the Arduino store.

Reception of the news seems to be mixed in various channels, many doubt Qualcomm with its history would be a good steward for an ecosystem like Arduino.

The new Arduino Q moves squarely into Raspberry Pi territory, where the Pi 5 currently sells for around $55 with mostly comparable features, at least if the RP2040-like features in the RP1 I/O controller are counted in.

Original Submission