The business arm of Raspberry Pi is preparing to make an initial public offering (IPO) in London. CEO Eben Upton tells Ars that should the IPO happen, it will let Raspberry Pi’s not-for-profit side expand by “at least a factor of 2X.” And while it’s “an understandable thing” that Raspberry Pi enthusiasts could be concerned, “while I’m involved in running the thing, I don’t expect people to see any change in how we do things.”
Sole sourcing of ASICs is a necessity of life unfortunately. They’re rarely pin-for-pin compatible, and hardware doesn’t allow quick spins due to regulatory recertifications any time you touch the PCB.
If your widget needs a computer in a small form factor, you can’t do much better than a pi. Not many firms have expertise of high-speed-design, so off the shelf hardware to handle that portion is pretty much a given. The fact it has exposed and broken out GPIO crowns it really as the only option in the world of SFF PCs. Arduino-class products are microcontrollers, the ATmega328P that powers them is an extremely basic MCU borrowed from industry.
For reference the least expensive industrial pc is $160 on digikey. The other SBCs are from non-reliable brands without certs, volume, etc. Rockchip based designs are going to be a no-go for many due to security implications, however imagined they may be.
These industrial customers may have started off a decade ago as a hobbiest on the pi; their volumes ultimately keep prices down for the hobbiest.
true, if you can’t get a Pi due to corporations sucking the supply dry you will save 100% of the money otherwise spent on a Pi.