To everyone’s surprise, Qualcomm has announced they have entered an agreement to acquire Arduino, the open-source hardware and software pioneer known for empowering millions of makers and developers worldwide.
After sweeping numerous names such as Edge Impulse and Foundries.io, Arduino is the latest acquisition made by the Snapdragon creator, with the deal now within the pending phase for regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. And through the new integration, Qualcomm is expecting more tech crossover between the portfolios of the two, such as combining the former’s advanced processing, graphics, computer vision, and AI capabilities with Arduino’s hallmark simplicity, affordability, and community-driven ethos.
Despite the takeover, Qualcomm stated that Arduino will maintain its independent brand and open-source approach, as well as the broad range of microcontrollers and processors, while gaining access to Qualcomm’s global resources and technology ecosystem.
As part of the new deal, there’s this new Arduino UNO Q offering, which is a next-gen single-board computer running a “dual processor” design that pairs a Linux Debian-capable microprocessor with a real-time microcontroller, featuring the Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 for high-performance computing and real-time control to enable intelligent solutions for applications spanning smart homes, education, and industrial automation.
Following the new hardware is the Arduino App Lab, which hugely helps with cross-platform development as it unifies the Arduino workflow across real-time OS, Linux, Python, and AI, on top of being compatible with the Edge Impulse platform within a streamlined, open-source environment that further accelerates AI model development in object and human detection, sound recognition, and image classification.
The corporate deal could also facilitate education strengthening, as STEM courses that utilize Arduino hardware can now be exposed to the latest or most practical application of real-world AI tools that are still affordable and approachable. At the ecosystem level, Qualcomm gains direct access to millions of current and rising developers, potentially creating a unified standard for AI development that spans prototyping, testing, and deployment.
As for the market, Qualcomm can both ease off the pressure of directly competing against rivals such as MediaTek in terms of SoC design for mobile phones and laptops with a new revenue source, as well as pivot into a new business field that doesn’t completely alienate its core strategy. After all, what better way to do that than directly acquiring one of the biggest players in said industry.
