“We build the products that we want to buy”, says Raspberry Pi’s Eben Upton

Upton joined EE Times’ Editor-in-Chief, Nitin Dahad, to discuss the company’s transformation – from its roots in computing education to its present-day role in industrial and embedded applications.

Upton opened with a personal memory that set the tone for the session, describing the motivations behind Raspberry Pi’s foundation in 2008: “We set up the organisation in 2008 to try to get young people excited about computers in the same way that I was excited as a child. I'm still excited.”

He recalled a time when children had access to low-cost, programmable machines like the BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum – devices that were not designed with education in mind but became tools of discovery. That landscape had all but disappeared by the early 2000s, and Upton saw its effects firsthand. Applications to study computing at the University of Cambridge, where he taught, had dropped by two-thirds over less than a decade.

“At the University of Cambridge, we went from around 600 applicants a year in 1999 to about 200 in 2008, the year we founded the Foundation.”

The first Raspberry Pi launched in 2012, and the reception surprised even its creators. It sold 100,000 units on its first day – not to schoolchildren, but to hobbyists.

These enthusiasts became grassroots advocates for the platform. Raspberry Pi’s entry into education was informal at first – anarchic, volunteer-led, and community-powered. But the company’s trajectory changed when those same users began bringing Raspberry Pi into professional contexts.

“There’s a well-trodden path from hobbyist adoption to industrial deployment. Arduino did it before us,” noted Upton.

A turning point came in 2015 with the launch of Raspberry Pi 2, featuring a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU. It delivered six times the CPU performance of the original model and marked a step change in industrial credibility.

“With a second product, you're saying: we're serious, we’re not a flash in the pan.”

By 2018, Raspberry Pi’s industrial and embedded sales had surpassed education and hobbyist markets. Today, that ratio stands at 80:20 in favour of professional use.

Companies such as Brompton, the British bicycle manufacturer, have adopted Raspberry Pi to automate factory operations. Upton attributed this industrial shift not only to performance improvements, but also to the growing complexity of designing with modern silicon.

“Signal integrity, power integrity, massive codebases – it’s all more demanding now. That’s pushing mid-volume OEMs towards modules.”

For many manufacturers, Upton argued, in-house hardware design only makes financial sense beyond 50,000 units per year. Below that, platforms like Raspberry Pi offer better economics and access to scarce engineering talent.

Legacy support has also played a role in Raspberry Pi’s industrial credibility. The company continues to ship even its earliest products.

“We still sell Raspberry Pi 1s. I sold 451 of them last month.”

Raspberry Pi’s IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2024 raised questions among its loyal user base. Would going public compromise the company’s founding values? Upton was quick to address this.

“There was some really understandable concern that being a public company might change our focus … the answer? Just watch us.”

Within ten months of the IPO, Raspberry Pi had launched more new products than in any previous year, including the Compute Module 5 and Pico 2. While commercial pressures added urgency, Upton suggested the real change was psychological.

“There is something about knowing that you're going to have to report to a large community of people … that does cause you to cast around a little bit and try to think about ways to make a little more money.”

The company’s only permanent retail location – in Cambridge – has also played a role in refining product strategy. It serves as a testbed for packaging, presentation, and new customer outreach.

“The store has really done three things for us … it lets us meet the people who aren’t yet sold … and it’s given us an opportunity to see all of our products next to each other on a shelf.”

That visibility prompted changes in how Raspberry Pi supports new users – moving from bare boards to ‘kitted’ solutions with power supplies, enclosures, and accessories for beginners.

The educational mission remains central, albeit broadened. During the pandemic, Raspberry Pi 4 became a crucial lifeline for students who lacked computing access at home.

“Raspberry Pi 4 really was the first Raspberry Pi that was a PC for a general audience … being able to make a difference there was … very heartening for us.”

Today, the platform’s educational role has expanded beyond computer science to support general learning – bridging digital divides and lowering entry barriers.

Throughout, Upton has maintained that the company’s authenticity stems from designing for itself.

“We are enthusiasts. We are professional design engineers. We build the products that we want to buy.”

That dual identity – enthusiast and engineer – has enabled Raspberry Pi to walk a fine line between community values and industrial rigor. The company, with just 136 employees, remains focused and independent.

Whatever that future looks like, Raspberry Pi’s core remains intact: a platform born of curiosity, sustained by competence, and evolving with purpose.