Chip giant Qualcomm has announced the acquisition of Arduino, the Italian maker of open-source hardware and software. The move shows Qualcomm's ambition to expand its edge computing ecosystem and reach the maker and education communities. Although it did not disclose the value of the deal, Qualcomm said Arduino will continue to operate independently once the transition is complete.
Extending Qualcomm's Reach to the Global Maker Community
According to Qualcomm, acquiring Arduino will help the company broaden its product portfolio and edge technology offerings, while better supporting students, educators, entrepreneurs, and engineers who want to turn technology ideas into reality. Arduino's products are not typically used directly in commercial products, but they play an important role in experimentation, prototyping, and STEM education.
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The Arduino community now has more than 33 million members worldwide, including electronics enthusiasts, programmers, and inventors. Once the deal closes, they will be able to access Qualcomm's full range of technologies and hardware platforms, opening up more possibilities for building creative products and small-scale AI projects. It is also a way for Qualcomm to build relationships with developers, which could extend the reach of Qualcomm hardware in the future.
For now, the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval. Qualcomm expects the process to go smoothly, without any significant opposition.
Introducing the New Arduino Uno Q, a Big Step Forward in Hardware
Alongside the acquisition announcement, Qualcomm and Arduino launched a new product called the Arduino Uno Q, described as Arduino's first "dual-brain" board. The device combines a microprocessor that runs Debian Linux with an STM32U585 microcontroller, offering flexible handling of both general-purpose computing and control tasks.
The Arduino Uno Q is built on the Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 platform and comes with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of eMMC storage, plus Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, and USB-C connectivity. It is positioned as a versatile development tool for a wide range of applications, especially in AI, with support for computer vision (AI Vision) and smart audio (AI Audio).
Notably, the Uno Q is the first board compatible with App Lab, Arduino's new development environment. App Lab is designed to work smoothly with the Edge Impulse platform, letting users create and fine-tune AI models based on real-world data from a variety of sources.
The Arduino Uno Q is now open for preorder on Arduino's website at $44, with shipping expected to begin on October 24. With Qualcomm's backing, the product is expected to open the door to a new generation of development devices that combine hardware power with AI capabilities, aimed at the global maker community.
