Down a rabbit hole really fast on a DIY custom computer keyboard project.
I could use an arduino nano clone, which are like $4 each, but then would need to do V-USB and I have no idea if that can be done with QMK at the same time or if I'd have to write my own firmware (stealing liberally from QMK).
Or I could just go simple and use a Proton-C, which are mostly sold out but are purpose-built for this and only cost four times as much...