I'm the CTO for a small software firm that does a lot if IoT. We've seen a number of startups build their prototypes using Arduino. Historically, there was no clear path to production. So, I think they're listening to some of their customers, and it is a clear opportunity for them.
On the other hand, positioning yourself as a hobbyist platform, _and_ a "production-grade" platform is tricky. I really like their entry-level boards for hobby-level things. I hope that continues.
Finally, a few thoughts:
1. If you dig into their code, their embedded software has struggled: the architecture is all over the place, the implementation is suspect in some areas, and testing has been weak. Hopefully they back port the new (hopefully improved) code to the hobby hardware.
1. As long as they don't require their cloud, I wish them well in that area. It's a really tough market.
I'm the CTO for a small software firm that does a lot if IoT. We've seen a number of startups build their prototypes using Arduino. Historically, there was no clear path to production. So, I think they're listening to some of their customers, and it is a clear opportunity for them.
On the other hand, positioning yourself as a hobbyist platform, _and_ a "production-grade" platform is tricky. I really like their entry-level boards for hobby-level things. I hope that continues.
Finally, a few thoughts:
1. If you dig into their code, their embedded software has struggled: the architecture is all over the place, the implementation is suspect in some areas, and testing has been weak. Hopefully they back port the new (hopefully improved) code to the hobby hardware.
1. As long as they don't require their cloud, I wish them well in that area. It's a really tough market.