Everyone with an Arduino project has, starting as of NOW, six months to look for a replacement.
If you don't start right away, I can point out someone who will be in a lot of pain in a few months.
Believe me...
I know this will play merry hell with the 3d printer and mechanical keyboard scene. Innumerable hardware will die from this takeover.
@ChrisF Please explain...
What motivated my message:
Let's break it down:
Qualcomm is a big company ✅, with no strategic interest in the small DIY/maker scene❌
"Broadening their ecosystem access", like an MBA guy would call it, is one of the main reasons behind this acquisition.
Qualcomm has a history of very aggressively enforcing IP issues.
Like every chip company. Semi is fundamentally about IP.
Qualcomm is not a company known for caring about fairness but only about their revenue.
Unlike which publicly listed company?
@ChrisF Qualcomm has just changed the T&S and has validated all points I mentioned: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adafruit_opensource-privacy-techpolicy-activity-7396903362237054976-r14H/
Sorry for linking to LinkedIn. I quote the most important parts:
The new documents introduce an irrevocable, perpetual license over anything users upload, broad surveillance-style monitoring of AI features, a clause preventing users from identifying potential patent infringement, years-long retention of usernames even after account deletion, and the integration of all user data (including minors) into Qualcomm’s global data ecosystem. Military weird things and more.
Several sections effectively reshape Arduino from an open community platform into a tightly controlled corporate service with deep data extraction built in. The most striking addition:
users are now explicitly forbidden from reverse-engineering or even attempting to understand how the platform works unless Arduino gives permission. That’s a profound shift for a brand long embraced by educators, makers, researchers, and open-source advocates.
Qualcomm-owned Arduino quietly pushed a sweeping rewrite of its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and the changes mark a clear break from the open-hardware ethos that built the platform. The new documents introduce an irrevocable, perpetual license over anything users upload, broad surveillance-style monitoring of AI features, a clause preventing users from identifying potential patent infringement, years-long retention of usernames even after account deletion, and the integration of all user data (including minors) into Qualcomm’s global data ecosystem. Military weird things and more. Several sections effectively reshape Arduino from an open community platform into a tightly controlled corporate service with deep data extraction built in. The most striking addition: users are now explicitly forbidden from reverse-engineering or even attempting to understand how the platform works unless Arduino gives permission. That’s a profound shift for a brand long embraced by educators, makers, researchers, and open-source advocates. With the cloud having a rough day and many systems offline, yesterday... Anyone invested in transparency, community governance, or data rights should read these documents closely. Links: https://lnkd.in/efKSip3e https://lnkd.in/eKDWCZT4 Somewhere an old Uno is whispering “this is not my beautiful life"... Forbes did a couple press-release style "features" with incorrect information that Qualcomm or Arduino supplied, obviously Qualcomm has severe issues with fraud, acquisitions, et. this was 3 DAYS AGO - Former Qualcomm executive sentenced to prison for $180M fraud scheme. @Bill Curtis & Steve McDowell please consider a revisit... Nakul Duggal seems to be the one that will end up taking the fall for this, the CEO of Qualcomm is not in the press release for the sale (and the press release seems like it was made by ChatGPT when you put it through those AI detectors?).. ANY WAY - Naukul and the Ardunio better get a ride in the over 10 Gulfstreams, which are a puzzle to investors, why so many? And why get a G800 now that's over $75m ...? That's how much Arduino has in funding... US's Qualcomm adds G800 to corporate jet fleet... https://lnkd.in/ddiCikpf LIKE, SHARE, AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE DIY ELECTRONICS AND OPEN SOURCE NEWS @ Adafruit Industries Qualcomm Arduino Cristiano R. Amon Massimo Banzi Fabio Violante Pietro D. Marcello Majonchi Federico Musto (龍獵人) <-- #opensource #privacy #techpolicy #hardware #iot #surveillance #qualcomm #arduino #makers #infosec #datarights #termsandconditions #cloudcomputing | 280 comments on LinkedIn
@masek Yes, I've seen that wall of text. The bottom part is ...bizarre... Anyone bothered to Fact-Check the upper part? Or has the keys to my Gulfstream?
Side note: Whenever I read such a post, I'm a bit sad how little "the community" knows about venture capital. Stupid & false analogy: I can decide that I don't like to ride trains - but if I use them every day and want to walk on the tracks, I should at least understand *something* ...
@ChrisF See https://www.arduino.cc/en/terms-conditions/#13-privacy-and-protection-of-personal-data
The upper part:
This complete agreement should never be agreed to by any person.
@masek
Out of curiosity, I started with your last point, and invested too much time in this.
10.5. TLDR: If user is not active for 2y, account may become inactive. The link of public forum posts to that account will remain in place for 5y.
(This is the default if user does nothing. Of course, users can always request to delete anything, GDPR).
This doesn't appear to be way out of the ordinary? Wikipedia keeps your username -> content forever. Reddit?
Not sure if this is worth the buzz.
@masek
7.2 Statement: "The new documents introduce an irrevocable, perpetual license over anything users upload,"
I don't get the point, but happy to be educated: Once I contribute to any open source project, I sign a CLA, containing typically a perpetual license. What's the issue?
@masek
AI monitoring: Oh my, did they let the intern write this?
They are developing new stuff and want to understand what is actually used by their users. And they need to comply with the law.
If they wouldn't be so elaborated on this, this would be fairly in line with the market standards, no?
Martin Seeger
Chris