Qualcomm Technologies has agreed to acquire robotics software company PickNik, the longtime steward of MoveIt, one of the most widely used open-source frameworks for robot manipulation.
The acquisition is intended to strengthen Qualcomm’s robotics software capabilities and make it easier for developers to move from AI models and prototypes to production robotics systems.
MoveIt, which is built on the Robot Operating System (ROS), provides capabilities including motion planning, manipulation, perception and kinematics. It is used across industrial automation, service robotics, mobile manipulation and emerging physical AI applications.
Qualcomm says MoveIt will remain open source under its existing license, with community-driven roadmaps and support for third-party hardware. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.
Nakul Duggal, EVP and group GM, Automotive, Industrial and Embedded IoT, and Robotics at Qualcomm Technologies, says: “Robotics is one of the most exciting frontiers of physical AI, and software is the connective tissue that turns great hardware into great robots.
“PickNik has earned tremendous trust within the global robotics community through its stewardship of MoveIt and its commitment to open-source innovation. Together, we plan to make it easier for developers to build advanced robotic applications on Dragonwing robotics platforms, while continuing to support the openness and collaboration that have made MoveIt successful.”
Qualcomm plans to integrate MoveIt and PickNik’s commercial MoveIt Pro platform more closely with its Dragonwing robotics platforms. The company says this will connect AI models, including vision-language-action and vision-language models, with motion planning, manipulation and real-time robot control.
Integration is also planned for Arduino VENTUNO Q boards, extending MoveIt’s motion planning and autonomy capabilities to Arduino developers.
Dave Coleman, founder and chief product officer at PickNik, says: “Since our founding, PickNik’s mission has been to provide industries with a powerful, open platform that accelerates innovation and development of advanced robotics, well beyond traditional factories.
“Joining Qualcomm Technologies will allow us to accelerate that mission, expand investment in MoveIt as a leading AI training platform for robotics, and deliver even more value to developers while preserving the openness, community collaboration, and cross-platform support that have always been central to our approach.”
Qualcomm and PickNik are both founding members of the Open Source Robotics Alliance and say they will continue supporting the open-source development of MoveIt and ROS.
The companies are demonstrating MoveIt Pro running on VENTUNO Q and Dragonwing robotics platforms at ROSCon Toronto.
