> If you're doing cheap IoT trinkets, you're never going to pay extra for a brand.
Except for the Arduino brand. Arduino boards have margins that traditional hardware vendors can only dream of achieving. The only thing carrying that profit margin is the Arduino brand. The software stack is not tied to their hardware, but they make tons of money on hardware.
I don't know if you realise it or not but the point you're making is self-contradictory. If they make great margins, that's why qualcomm would want to buy them, but not why they'd want to sell and have to share it. I guess it makes sense if you're saying arduino are suckers
They did say:
> you want more money now
But honestly, on HN, no one should have to explain why founders seek exits.
Just like any other founder, if the vast majority of their net worth is tied up in the company, they'd like to have an exit to take some chips off the table and diversify their investments.
If life is so sweet for them, why sell arduino?