News this week that the computer firm behind the Raspberry Pi is considering an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange, will no doubt have set alarm bells ringing amongst its global community of enthusiasts and tinkerers.
With over 61 million units across all its variants sold to date, these tiny affordable computers have revolutionised many aspects of computing, empowering a generation of young people to get into software programming and electronic design.
In reality though there has been a marked shift from its original purpose for educational and hobbyist use to commercial, as its Pico series and RP2040 controller chip variants are increasingly being used in IOT devices, appliances and industrial control systems, with these markets now accounting for 50% of all Raspberry Pi sales.
The company says that its current revenue of $265.8 million (Y/E December 2023) represents only 1% of the estimated market potential, and with such a high brand reputation, you can see why investors might be falling over themselves to have a slice of this cake.
It is currently owned by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charitable organisation that through its various initiatives in education and research has spent millions facilitating all aspects of computer learning for young people and in particular within disadvantaged communities around the world.
If Raspberry Pi is listed on the stock market, then it is reasonable to argue that it won’t be long before shareholder demand for greater profit and dividends will eventually reduce the education and philanthropic aspect to a token effort. The devices themselves will become less affordable with the emphasis being shifted to increased commercial use in IOT devices and industrial control systems. And what about its operating system, which is currently free, will we see a greater emphasis and support for a new full-feature paid-for variant, while the free version becomes increasingly marginalised (RedHat, Splunk etc, etc). While the Raspberry Pi Foundation still intends to remain a shareholder, it’s uncertain how a future board will balance the two sides whose interests are in effect mutually exclusive.
No decision has been made yet, but industry commentators believe the IPO is inevitable, and with it will come a very uncertain future for the Raspberry Pi.
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