A big problem is that they didn't really innovate. Companies like Adafruit, Sparkfun, and Pimoroni leapfrogged their hardware products, and eventually ended up

A big problem is that they didn't really innovate. Companies like Adafruit, Sparkfun, and Pimoroni leapfrogged their hardware products, and eventually ended up developing their own ecosystems when it turned out that the Arduino IDE was more of a liability than a boon. They were a no-brainer in 2005-2010, but why buy from Arduino in 2023 when you can get a newer product with more features at a lower price from their competitors?