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Raspberry Pi Foundation

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Raspberry Pi Foundation
FormationMay 2009; 16 years ago (2009-05)
Founders
Founded atCaldecote, South Cambridgeshire
Registration no.1129409
Legal status
Headquarters37 Hills Road, Cambridge, England, U.K.[2]
ProductsRaspberry Pi
FieldsEducation
CEO
Philip Colligan
Main organ
Board of trustees[3]
Websiteraspberrypi.org Edit this at Wikidata

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based educational charity founded in 2008 to promote the study of computer science and related subjects globally, particularly among young people. It is best known for initiating the Raspberry Pi series of single-board computers. These are now designed and sold by Raspberry Pi Holdings, a publicly traded company of which the Foundation is the largest shareholder. While legally distinct, both entities share a mission to democratise access to computing.

History

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The Foundation was founded in 2008 by David Braben, Jack Lang, Pete Lomas, Rob Mullins, Alan Mycroft and Eben Upton, and formally registered as a charity in May 2009 in Caldecote, England.[4][2][5][6] Mycroft, Lang, Mullins and Upton were involved with the Computer Lab at the University of Cambridge and were motivated by a decline in applications to study the computer science undergraduate course. Their aim was to develop a computer, available for the price of a textbook, to encourage hands-on experimentation in programming and electronics. Braben, one of the founders of the Frontier Developments contributed insights from the games industry, while Lomas drew on his background in electronics manufacturing.[7]

[T]he lack of programmable hardware for children – the sort of hardware we used to have in the 1980s – is undermining the supply of eighteen-year-olds who know how to program, so that's a problem for universities, and then it's undermining the supply of 21 year olds who know how to program, and that's causing problems for industry.

Co-founder Eben Upton in 2012[8]

After several early prototypes, the first Raspberry Pi computer was launched in 2012.[9] Beyond the originally intended use in education, the computer was quickly adopted by computer and electronics enthusiasts. Many of these users carried their experience with the platform into professional and industrial settings.[10]

To commercialize the computer and meet growing demand, the Foundation established a commercial subsidiary in late 2012 called Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd. to develop and manufacture its computing products.[11][12] The profits of this company used to fund the charitable work of the foundation. Between 2012 and 2024, the commercial subsidiary contributed nearly US$50 million to the Foundation, alongside over US$60 million raised from philanthropy and other sources.

Upton left the foundation board in December 2012 to lead both the new company and foundation as CEO.[13][14] In September 2013 Lance Howarth became CEO of the foundation, allowing Upton to focus on the company.[12] Philip Colligan took over as CEO of the foundation in July 2015.[15][16] In 2016, The foundation moved its headquarters to Station Road, Cambridge,[17] moving again in 2018, to Hills Road, Cambridge.[18]

In 2015, the Raspberry Pi Foundation merged with Code Club.[19][20][21] In 2017, it merged with CoderDojo.[22][23]

The commercial subsidiary split from the foundation in July 2024, and became a publicly traded company, with the foundation as its largest shareholder. The foundation was supportive of the move, and said would use proceeds from share sales to establish an endowment for its educational work while remaining a major shareholder and stakeholder in the company's future.[24]

Activities

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The Foundation delivers educational programmes promoting the study of computer science and related subjects worldwide, including teacher training, curriculum resources, and outreach initiatives.

In April 2014, the foundation announced a £1 million education fund to support projects that enhance the understanding of computing and to promote the use of technology in other subjects, particularly STEM and creative arts for children.[25] They offered to provide up to 50% of the total projected costs to successful applicants.[26] Carrie Anne Philbin was the Director of Education.[27]

The Raspberry Foundation is an active sponsor of the British edition of the International Bebras Computing competition, together with the University of Oxford.[28]

The foundation publishes Hello World, a "computing and digital making" magazine.[29] From 2018 to early 2023, the foundation published Wireframe, a video game development magazine.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Raspberry Pi Foundation - About Us". Raspberry Pi. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2021. Raspberry Pi Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (1129409).Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No.06758215.
  2. ^ a b "Register of Charities – The Charity Commission – Raspberry Pi Foundation Charity number: 1129409". Charity Commission for England and Wales. 6 June 2011. The object of the charity is to further the advancement of education of adults and children, particularly in the field of Computers, Computer Science and related subjects
  3. ^ "Governance – Raspberry Pi". Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  4. ^ Vilches, Jose (22 May 2012). "Interview with Raspberry's Founder Eben Upton". TechSpot. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  5. ^ Brookes, Tim (24 February 2012). "Raspberry Pi – A Credit-Card Sized ARM Computer – Yours For Only $25". MakeUseOf. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  6. ^ Heath, Nick (19 December 2018). "Inside the Raspberry Pi: The story of the $35 computer that changed the world". TechRepublic. Retrieved 10 February 2023. Early the following year, Upton, Lomas, Mycroft, Elite creator David Braben, and Cambridge University lecturers Jack Lang and Rob Mullins would create the Raspberry Pi Foundation,
  7. ^ Lazar, John (3 July 2024). "A vote of thanks to our Trustees". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  8. ^ Halfacree, Gareth (1 March 2012). "Raspberry Pi interview: Eben Upton reveals all". Linux User & Developer. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  9. ^ "About Us". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Prospectus". Raspberry Pi Holdings. 11 June 2024. p. 47. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Raspberry Pi Ltd". Companies House. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Welcome Lance!". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Eben Upton CBE". Archives of IT. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  14. ^ "TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012" (PDF). RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION. 30 September 2013.
  15. ^ "Welcome Philip!". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  16. ^ "3. Carrie Anne Philbin, director of education, Raspberry Pi Foundation – The 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2017". www.computerweekly.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Raspberry Pi and JA Kemp move to iconic Station Road HQs". Business Weekly. Business Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Annual Report" (PDF). Raspberry Pi Foundation. 2018.
  19. ^ "Putting a Code Club in every community". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Pi's the limit: Merger aims to create more kid coders". Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  21. ^ Horsey, Julian (3 November 2015). "Raspberry Pi Foundation And Code Club UK Join Forces To Help Children Code". Geeky Gadgets. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Raspberry Pi Foundation and CoderDojo to code club together". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  23. ^ Gorey, Colm (26 May 2017). "CoderDojo and Raspberry Pi join forces to create coding giant". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  24. ^ "Raspberry Pi Holdings". www.londonstockexchange.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Announcing Our Million-Pound Education Charity Fund". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  26. ^ "EDUCATION FUND". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  27. ^ "Raspberry Pi Foundation's Carrie Anne Philbin earns MBE for services to education". Cambridge Independent. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  28. ^ Sentance, Sue (28 October 2019). "The Raspberry Pi Foundation and Bebras". Raspberry Pi Foundation. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  29. ^ "Hello World". Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  30. ^ Calvin, Alex (17 January 2023). "Four years and 70 issues later: Why Wireframe magazine is closing down". Games Industry.biz. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
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