Not particularly bright reporters are wondering why people are freaking the f%$# out over the acquisition of Arduino by Qualcomm.
It's not just because it means that what has been an open source of inexpensive computer hardware is being taken over by a for profit company, it is because Qualcomm's entire business DNA is predicated on the abusive use of our dysfunctional IP system to extract excessive rents.
Arduino is not just being taken over by a for-profit company, it is being taken over by an ineluctably evil for-profit company.
On 7 October, the open-source hardware community woke up to surprising news. Qualcomm, the tech giant behind the Snapdragon chips found in billions of smartphones, tablets, and laptops worldwide, had acquired Arduino, an Italian hardware company known for its open-source microcontrollers and educational electronics starter kits.
The announcement came out of nowhere. Arduino wasn’t known to be courting a buyer, and no hint or rumor of the deal leaked beforehand—a rarity for any tech acquisition brokered in 2025. It left fans of Arduino and open-source hardware concerned about what it means for Arduino’s future.
………
The company wants to create an ecosystem where developers can “use one of our development kits to build prototypes, can source the silicon from a distributor, and go and build everything on their own—without or with very little help from Qualcomm,” says [Qualcomm VP of industrial IoT Manvinder] Singh.
Let me translate, "This ecosystem will charge you up the wazoo if you want to move from personal LEGO robots to sell any of your work."
That's how Qualcomm makes it money.
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