Arduino's VENTUNO Q now costs $399. On October 19, 2026, the company moved its Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ8-based single-board computer off its $299 introductory price. It explained the change in a letter to the community signed by Chief Product Officer Marcello Majonchi. Rising component costs, memory modules above all, forced the increase. Anyone who has already pre-ordered keeps the old price: "the introductory price will be honored in full," Majonchi wrote.

The board is still a pre-order. As of October 20, 2026, the Arduino Store USA lists it at $399.00 USD (SKU ABX00181) with the note "This is a pre-order. Available for delivery in 3/4 weeks time". That delivery window is the store's estimate, not a ship date.

From "under $300" to $399

The letter lays out the pricing history. When Arduino introduced the VENTUNO Q in March, it promised "an introductory price of under $300". It kept that promise in August, when it opened orders at $299. CNX Software covered the pre-order launch on August 25 and flagged it at the time: "Note that it's an introductory price, so I'd expect the price to increase after pre-orders."

Majonchi gives two reasons for the increase. The first is cost. The price of key components, "in particular memory modules, has risen sharply across our entire industry, and continues to climb," he wrote, adding: "We absorbed those increases for as long as we possibly could." The second is demand: "VENTUNO Q sold out (twice!) in no time at all, and the orders have not stopped since." He calls $399 "the honest price of delivering this AI computer". The letter does not break down component costs or name suppliers.

The hardware is unchanged

Only the price has changed. Arduino's store page lists:

  • MPU: Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ8 (QCS8275), octa-core Kryo Gen 6 CPU, Adreno 623 GPU
  • NPU: Hexagon Tensor AI Processor, up to 40 Dense TOPS
  • RAM: 2x8GB LPDDR5
  • Storage: 64GB eMMC, plus an M.2 connector for NVMe Gen.4 external storage
  • MCU: STM32H5F5, Arm Cortex-M33 at 250 MHz, 4MB flash, 1.5MB RAM
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 (2.4/5/6 GHz), Bluetooth 5.3, one 2.5 Gbit RJ45 Ethernet port

The Linux side runs "standard Ubuntu (and Debian coming soon)," according to the same page. Arduino gives no benchmark conditions for the 40 TOPS figure, which is a peak "up to" rating.

Where it sits in Arduino's lineup

The VENTUNO Q is Arduino's second Qualcomm-based board. The first, the UNO Q, launched in October 2025, and CNX describes the new board as "quite a different beast with a larger design." Both pair a Linux-capable Dragonwing processor with an STM32 microcontroller for real-time control, but they are far apart in scale. The Arduino UNO Q 2GB sells for $59.00 and uses a Dragonwing QRB2210 with four Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0 GHz, 2GB of LPDDR4, 16GB of eMMC and an STM32U585 microcontroller. It lists no NPU performance figure. Arduino's store calls the VENTUNO Q "the most powerful Arduino platform to date."

Software status

According to the letter, Qualcomm Linux support for the VENTUNO Q "is already live in beta on GitHub." The code lives in qualcomm-linux/meta-qcom-arduino, an "OpenEmbedded/Yocto Project BSP layer for Qualcomm based Arduino platforms" that lists ventuno-q and uno-q machines. Arduino has not said when it will leave beta.

The letter also promises that the next Arduino App Lab release will bring new AI models and "support for 3rd-party accessories like the Raspberry Pi HATs and MIPI CSI cameras." That support is announced, not shipped.

What It Means for Makers

  • Already pre-ordered: Your order stays at the introductory price, per the letter.
  • Ordering now: New orders on Arduino's store pay the official price. The board is still a pre-order, so plan around an estimated delivery window rather than a firm date.
  • Buying elsewhere: The letter names Conrad, DigiKey, Mouser, Farnell, RS and Robu.in, "and many others worldwide," as official distribution partners. Their prices and stock are set by each retailer, not by Arduino's store.
  • Choosing between Q boards: Both boards pair a Dragonwing processor with an STM32 microcontroller. Arduino pitches the VENTUNO Q at on-device AI, with local LLMs and vision models on its NPU and the STM32H5 handling physical control, and at moving from prototype to production through the Works with Arduino program. If a project needs Linux plus a real-time MCU but none of that AI headroom, the $59.00 UNO Q is the lower-cost member of the family.
  • Accessories and OS: HAT and MIPI CSI camera support depends on a future App Lab release, and the Qualcomm Linux layer is in beta. If either is essential, check Arduino's documentation and the meta-qcom-arduino repository before ordering.

Sources