1. Valve is a private company with a money printer (steam) 2. the point of these initiatives is to build an ecosystem with steam at the centre.

A better way to look at this is valve is trying to hedge it's self against microsoft. By creating an ecosystem of devices and software that's full open so they're not reliant on Microsoft. The goal of Valve hardware ISN'T to make money. It's to encourage others to build devices free of Microsoft that Steam can be installed on.

They have nothing to gain by being closed, and everything to gain by being open.