History of Raspberry Pi in Timeline

Raspberry Pi is a series of affordable, single-board computers (SBCs) originating from the United Kingdom. Initially developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in collaboration with Broadcom, subsequent models have been created by Raspberry Pi Ltd, a subsidiary of the Foundation since 2012. These compact computers have found widespread use in education, hobbyist projects, and industrial applications due to their versatility and low cost.

2006: Early Raspberry Pi Concepts

In 2006, the early Raspberry Pi concepts were based on the Atmel ATmega644 microcontroller.

February 2012: Model B Order Acceptance

In February 2012, The Raspberry Pi Foundation started accepting orders for the Model B, priced at US$35.

February 2013: Model A Launch

In February 2013, the lower cost Model A was launched, priced at US$25.

November 2014: Model A+ Launch

In November 2014, the even lower cost Model A+ was launched, priced at US$20.

February 2015: 5 Million Raspberry Pis Sold

By February 2015, more than 5 million Raspberry Pis had been sold, making it the best-selling British computer.

November 2015: Raspberry Pi Zero Launch

In November 2015, the Raspberry Pi Zero, the cheapest Raspberry Pi yet, was launched at US$5 or £4.

November 2016: 11 Million Units Sold

By November 2016, 11 million Raspberry Pi units had been sold.

March 2017: 12.5 Million Units Sold

By March 2017, 12.5 million Raspberry Pi units had been sold, making it the third best-selling "general purpose computer".

July 2017: Sales Reach 15 Million

In July 2017, Raspberry Pi sales reached nearly 15 million units.

March 2018: Sales Reach 19 Million

By March 2018, Raspberry Pi sales had climbed to 19 million units.

December 2019: 30 Million Devices Sold

By December 2019, a total of 30 million Raspberry Pi devices had been sold.

2020: Global Chip Shortage Impact

In 2020, the global chip shortage started, which eventually affected the Raspberry Pi availability.

2021: Increased Demand and Availability Issues

Starting in early 2021, an uptake in demand and the ongoing chip shortage significantly affected the Raspberry Pi, causing availability issues. The company explained its approach to the shortages.