Raspberry Pi
Low-cost single-board computers for education and industry.
The name combines the fruit-themed naming of early computer companies with a nod to the Python programming language.[1] The Raspberry Pi Foundation aimed to produce an affordable computer that would spark children's interest in programming again.[2] According to a 2026 financial statement, over 75 million units had been sold, and by 2015 the device had overtaken the ZX Spectrum to become the top-selling British computer ever.[3]
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Raspberry Pi Holdings
- Manufacturer
- Sony (under contract)
- Released
- 29 February 2012
- Units sold
- 75 million (as of March 2026)
- Storage
- MicroSD slot
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
The foundation's goal was shaped by the BBC Micro from the early 1980s, a computer created through a BBC effort to boost computer skills in UK classrooms.[1] In 2012, the foundation underwent a reorganization, establishing Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd. to manage engineering and business operations, with Eben Upton serving as its chief executive.[4] No operating system came pre-installed on the Raspberry Pi, but a Debian adaptation called Raspbian soon became the most common choice.[5] By September 2013, the company had taken over the direction of Raspbian's development.[6]
What the cited sources add
The Raspberry Pi Foundation stated the price drop was a side effect of production optimizations from the Raspberry Pi 2's development.[7] The same post noted that the Raspberry Pi 400 has dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.0.[8] Final assembly of the Raspberry Pi 400 occurred in Sony's manufacturing facility in Wales.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Raspberry Pi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Raspberry Pi • View topic – Raspberry Pi as the successor of BBC Micro", raspberrypi.org, 22 April 2012; Williams, Chris, "Psst, kid... Wanna learn how to hack?", The Register, 28 November 2011; "Interview with Raspberry's Founder Eben Upton", TechSpot, 22 May 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Raspberry Pi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cellan-Jones, "A£15 computer to inspire young programmers", BBC News, 5 May 2011; Price, "Can a £15 computer solve the programming gap?", BBC Click, 3 June 2011; Bush, "Dongle computer lets kids discover programming on a TV", Electronics Weekly, 25 May 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Raspberry Pi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "FY 2025 financial statement", Raspberry Pi Holdings plc, 31 March 2026, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Raspberry Pi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Eben Upton CBE", Archives of IT (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Raspberry Pi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holwerda, Thom, "Raspberry Pi To Embrace RISC OS", OSNews, 31 October 2011; "Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix, our recommended distro, is ready for download!", Raspberrypi.org, 8 March 2012; Chung, Emily, "$35 computer 'Raspberry Pi' readies for launch", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 24 February 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Raspberry Pi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Getting ready for launch: first root filesystem available for download", Raspberry Pi Foundation, 17 February 2012; "ArmHardFloatPort", Debian Wiki, 20 August 2012; Brodkin, "How two volunteers built the Raspberry Pi's operating system", Ars Technica, 6 March 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Shepherd, "Raspberry Pi slashes price after rival launches on Kickstarter", ITPro, 18 May 2015. facts only, no text reused. itpro.co.uk
- "Designing Raspberry Pi 400", Raspberry Pi, 3 November 2020. facts only, no text reused. raspberrypi.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Raspberry Pi (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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