Maker fight! SparkFun cuts ties with Adafruit in harassment dispute

Retailer SparkFun Electronics last month said it would no longer do business with electronics kit-maker Adafruit Industries, citing violations of SparkFun's Code of Conduct during online interactions.

Adafruit says it's being punished for demanding an end to online harassment attributed to SparkFun's founder and a former employee.

The tech at the center of the dispute are Teensy development boards, which Adafruit obtains through SparkFun.

SparkFun CEO Glenn Samala, in a letter dated December 8, 2025, said the company would do its best to ship outstanding orders until January 15, 2026, after which it will cancel any remaining unfulfilled orders.

According to Phillip Torrone, managing director of Adafruit, writing in a YCombinator forum, "This happened after I sent an email reporting the founder, Nate [Seidle], for multiple harassing actions directed at [Adafruit founder Limor Fried], including behavior by him and a former employee. Instead of addressing that, they ...