While I was looking for a "reference manual" for the STM32L442KC, I came across an option to buy the MCU directly from the manufacturer. I pay about $8/chip (about $9 after shipping). If I bought direct, $2.67/chip! The catch? I have to order 10,000 of them at once!

So, I'd need to be operating at an enormous scale for that purchase to make sense. $26,700 is a lot of money.

If I were operating at that scale, I could also buy all the other components at a better price per unit, but the main costs are

1. Software and hardware R&D

2. Hardware assembly

3. Parts

In that order, and there's a huge gap in between each one. Still, $5 less in parts, plus getting them direct from the manufacture is still pretty attractive.