Qualcomm buys Arduino, targets edge AI and robotics with new hardware

Arduino, which celebrated its 21st anniversary this year, has announced a strategic pivot following Qualcomm's acquisition in October. The company, which began as an open-source microcontroller platform over two decades ago, now operates as an independent Qualcomm subsidiary focused on edge AI and robotics.

According to Marcello Majonchi, Arduino's chief product officer, the acquisition combines Qualcomm's power-efficient AI hardware with Arduino's developer stack to make technologies such as AI models and ROS 2 (a robotics middleware framework) easier to deploy. Two products from this collaboration have already emerged. The Arduino Uno Q, the first product of the partnership, combines a Qualcomm chipset with a microcontroller in the traditional Arduino form factor and costs just over $50; it can run edge AI models and power robots. The Ventuno Q, launching in August, is described as the most powerful Arduino ever built and delivers 40 TOPS of AI performance—sufficient to power a fully autonomous AMR (autonomous mobile robot) with a robotic arm, which Arduino demonstrated at Embedded World.

The acquisition's strategic value lies in merging two different approaches: Qualcomm's expertise in semiconductor design and AI optimization with Arduino's philosophy of making complex technology accessible to developers. Majonchi emphasized that Arduino remains independent, giving Qualcomm direct feedback from customers in IoT, robotics, and edge AI, while Arduino gains access to Qualcomm's technologies and broader ecosystem. The developer platform supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, including Apple Silicon—a distinction Majonchi highlighted when explaining that Arduino is built around software tools, whereas competitors like Raspberry Pi are primarily hardware platforms.

Majonchi also reflected on Arduino's Italian heritage, noting that Italy's computing contributions—including the Olivetti Programma 101, used by NASA during the Apollo 11 mission, and the work of semiconductor pioneer Federico Faggin—are often overlooked. Arduino, he argued, continues that tradition established by Olivetti. Looking ahead, Majonchi identified three sectors as the company's biggest growth opportunities: robotics, industrial automation, and building and home automation. He cited the automotive industry as evidence of Arduino's prototyping dominance—more than 95 percent of automotive manufacturers use Arduino for development, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls-Royce. Majonchi drew a parallel between today's robotics market and IoT in its early days, suggesting that as more developers gain access to these technologies, robotics adoption will follow the same trajectory.