Forrard-looking: Raspberry Pi'due south are incredibly popular and useful devices. They're small, affordable, and fully-functional computers with a wide range of applications. You can utilise them to manage your smart devices, control robots, or anything else you might utilise an ordinary PC for (with some hardware limitations). Given the Pi's massive success, it might non surprise you to acquire that the organization behind the devices, The Raspberry Pi Foundation, is reportedly planning to go public side by side year.

The arm of the Foundation responsible for product development and sales, known every bit 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 one thousand thousand.

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 probable became interested in the Foundation following growth spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since lockdowns began, individuals have been spending more than time indoors, pursuing DIY projects like Raspberry Pi tinkering. Indeed, The Telegraph reports that Raspberry Pi secured £11.4m in profits concluding yr (about $15.2 million) by selling seven.one million Pi devices.

According to Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton, all of this actress funding has helped to secure the Foundation's hereafter in the short term. A public list, 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 fifty-fifty run boosted educational programs to get young people interested in engineering science. Regardless, nothing is set in stone nonetheless. If a public stock listing is to take place here, it'll exist 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