Raspberry Pi is reportedly planning an IPO next year

[Polycount]

Forward-looking: Raspberry Pi's are incredibly popular and useful devices. They're small, affordable, and fully-functional computers with a wide range of applications. You can use them to manage your smart devices, control robots, or anything else you might use an ordinary PC for (with some hardware limitations). Given the Pi's massive success, it might not surprise you to learn that the organization behind the devices, The Raspberry Pi Foundation, is reportedly planning to go public next year.

The arm of the Foundation responsible for product development and sales, known as Raspberry Pi Trading Ltd, has reportedly been analyzed by investment bankers from Stifel and Liberum. Sources who spoke to the Telegraph claim Raspberry Pi could be valued at around £370 million, which equates to roughly $500 million.

This news, the Telegraph notes, comes shortly after a $45 million investment Raspberry Pi received in September following a partial stock sale to Lansdowne Partners and the Ezrah Charitable Trust.

Those two groups likely became interested in the Foundation following growth spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since lockdowns began, individuals have been spending more time indoors, pursuing DIY projects like Raspberry Pi tinkering. Indeed, The Telegraph reports that Raspberry Pi secured £11.4m in profits last year (about $15.2 million) by selling 7.1 million Pi devices.

According to Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton, all of this extra funding has helped to secure the Foundation's future in the short term. A public listing, however, would ensure its long-term stability, especially if the $500 million number mentioned above proves accurate.

That influx of cash could help the Foundation recruit new engineers, amplify its marketing presence, or even run additional educational programs to get young people interested in technology. Regardless, nothing is set in stone yet. If a public stock listing is to take place here, it'll be in spring, so we'll just have to wait a few months to see what Raspberry Pi has up its sleeve.

Masthead credit: CNX Software

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92417-raspberry-pi-reportedly-planning-go-public-spring.html

 

[Toju Mikie]

If I see it on NYSE, I'll buy for sure.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a non-profit. As far as I know you cannot “own” a non-profit even as a partial owner because that would be a conflict of interest with their mission, which is what the non-profit’s charitable purpose is for (not to make shareholders money). Regarding any money “invested” in them, the proper term for that would be a “donation”. Please let me know if British law is any different than how I explained it though, this is coming from an American background.

EDIT: It looks like the Raspberry Pi Trading Ltd is a subsidiary of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the subsidiary is what’s being referred to as going public. Here’s a press release about their private investment round earlier this year that clearly shows it’s separate from the foundation. Also see the Wikipedia article on it for this distinction.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a non-profit. As far as I know you cannot “own” a non-profit even as a partial owner because that would be a conflict of interest with their mission, which is what the non-profit’s charitable purpose is for (not to make shareholders money). Regarding any money “invested” in them, the proper term for that would be a “donation”. Please let me know if British law is any different than how I explained it though, this is coming from an American background.

You should read the article. It explains what you are missing.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

This will probably fly under the radar but end up being a big performer.

 

[fps4ever]

Really interested in the Pi 5 when they finally confirm the details. I wonder if that would coincide with the IPO announcement?

 

[Theinsanegamer]

RIP PI. Going public is the worst thing for a small niche company to do. Am not really sure WHY they need to do that, theyve been selling everything they can make for some time now.

 

[Avro Arrow]

The best way to ruin a company: Go IPO.

 

[Danny101]

I've been following their progress for years. Been wanting to do a PC project, but their just not strong enough for me. If they need the funding to create more powerful releases, this might be the infusion needed. Will be watching.