Qualcomm to buy Arduino, hoping to bring AI to edge computing

Qualcomm agrees to acquire Arduino, expanding the company into edge computing

Qualcomm has announced its intention to acquire Arduino, the open-source hardware and software company. With this acquisition, Qualcomm aims to integrate its AI hardware into the realm of edge computing, while preserving Arduino’s branding and open-source ethos.

In Qualcomm’s eyes, it can bring a lot to the Arduino ecosystem with its CPU, GPU, and NPU technologies. Arduino can offer its customers more powerful technologies, while Qualcomm can get its technology into more devices. This could significantly increase Qualcomm’s reach, although Qualcomm insists that Arduino will not be merged with it. Even after the acquisition, Arduino will remain an independent entity, albeit one that is owned by Qualcomm.

Alongside this announcement, Arduino has unveiled its UNO A. This new single-board computer uses Qualcomm hardware and is the most powerful UNO device to date. It features a “dual-brain” architecture, comprising a CPU capable of running Debian Linux and a real-time microcontroller. The device uses Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QRB2210 processor.

The UNO Q is available starting today for $44. This is for the version with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of eMMC storage. A higher-end version with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage is launching next month. Note that this version will cost $59.

Like all major acquisitions, this deal will require regulatory approval. Qualcomm has not set an intended timeframe for the acquisition’s closure. It is also unclear what conditions, if any, will be placed on Qualcomm to close this deal.

You can join the discussion on Qualcomm’s planned acquisition of Arduino on the OC3D Forums.