Sony plans dedicated Raspberry Pi 5 line ahead of IPO
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Raspberry Pi in the UK has applied to join the London stock market in a flotation worth up to £600m. At the same time supplier Sony is installing a dedicated line in Japan to make the latest Raspberry Pi 5 boards.
The Raspberry Pi IPO is expected to be in the range of £500m to £630m (€581m to €730m, $633m to $800m). Revenues in 2023 were $265.8 million, with gross profit of $66.0 million, and operating profit of $37.5 million
The majority of the low cost computing boards are manufactured by Sony in Pencoed, Wales, with a limited number at Sony’s manufacturing facility in Inazawa, Japan.
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“We have agreed with Sony to further expand the existing production at their Inazawa facility and, by the end of 2024, expect them to have established a dedicated production line there for Raspberry Pi 5,” said the company, which is owned by a charitable Foundation and shareholders Sony and ARM.
“For the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a patient and supportive shareholder, this IPO brings the opportunity to double down on their outstanding work to enable young people to realise their potential through the power of computing,” said Eben Upton, CEO.
“We’ve hugely appreciated their support on our journey so far and are delighted that the Foundation will remain a major shareholder. Raspberry Pi enthusiasts will see the next phase of our development offer unprecedented opportunities for creativity and innovation.”
Since the company began trading in 2012, it has sold over 60 million SBCs and compute modules, of which 7.4 million were sold in 2023. It estimates that its current total addressable market is approximately $21.2 billion, with 72% in the Industrial and Embedded market, 28% for the Enthusiast and Education market and the rest, under 1%, in semiconductor market, which the company entered in early 2021 with the launch of its RP2040 microcontroller.
It sells boards directly to its global network of over 100 Approved Resellers and to more than 500 OEM customers, and also licenses designs to Premier Farnell, which independently arranges for the manufacture and sale of certain products, paying a per-unit royalty.
“When we released our first product in 2012, our goal was to provide a computer that was affordable enough for young people to own and explore with confidence, giving them the chance to discover computing and get excited about it. But from the very beginning we saw customers using our products in a staggering variety of applications across a broad swathe of markets, and as we recognised the potential for affordable technology to make a meaningful difference not just in education but in countless other contexts, the scale of our ambition grew,” said Upton.
“Twelve years later, we have sold over 60 million units in over 70 countries around the world. A remarkable ecosystem of individuals and businesses has grown around Raspberry Pi, supporting both the enthusiast and industrial markets to innovate and succeed with our products. We’re now seeing the former feed into the latter, as the first generation who encountered Raspberry Pi as young people take their experience with our technology into their professional careers, and today the industrial and embedded market accounts for 72% of units sold.”
“Our commitment to low-cost computing, a fundamental part of what is special about Raspberry Pi, is unchanged. In an ever more connected world, the market for Raspberry Pi’s high-performance, low-cost computing platforms continues to expand. We have the technology roadmap to play an increasingly significant role, and we are excited to embark on the next stage of our growth.”
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