Evolv's silence on this has been deafening. NOT A WORD.
I sent Brandon a text message a month ago about this, without a response and I tried to speak with him at Vapebash.
Evolv has never confirmed or denied this to date.
Sources very close to Evolv tell me that they are behind these chips. I was told this was their idea, and they went to China in November of 2013 to do this.
The boards flash Evolv DNA and the chips themselves are even scratched with sandpaper so you cant see their maker. Talked about here at Vaporjoes Canada. If true - this doesn't mean Evolv has done anything wrong, in fact its a very smart move. Now more people will be able to get chips at a cheaper price. These chips are $20.00 ea in lots of 100 and the DNA30 is $26.00 in lots of 100. They will only go down in price and perhaps we will see an higher wattage chip in the future. China loves to tinker with things.
Evolv will shortly have the patent on variable wattage - so why not let China license it? Its just good business.
UPDATE 2:40PM
I was contacted by someone close to Brandon that told me that this is 100% NOT an Evolv board and evolv has nothing to do with it. There was a chip called the EXP but it has since been scrapped. Evolv themselves are getting chips to see how these boards are being made. The source code might have been leaked to China.
Im glad we got some clarification on the matter.
Im still trying to figure out why they are sandpapering the chips so you can't see what chips they are, and who makes them.