Raspberry Pi Sells Millions

The Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity founded in 2006 by Eben Upton with allies from academia and industry, has achieved remarkable success in promoting computer science education for young people. The foundation's first model, the Raspberry Pi Model B, was launched on February 29, 2012, for $35, and it quickly gained international fame.

The Raspberry Pi Model B was equipped with a 700 MHz ARM chip and 256 MB of RAM. Initially, the foundation manufactured 25 final beta boards, with 10 of them being auctioned on eBay in early 2012. The auctions were highly successful, with individual boards fetching four-figure sums, which helped fund the final polish before the launch.

In 2012, the production of the Raspberry Pi moved from China to the Sony factory in Pencoed, Wales. The Raspberry Pi Model B's RAM was later doubled to 512 MB at no extra cost. Raspbian became the officially recommended operating system for the Raspberry Pi, further enhancing its capabilities.

## Why it matters The Raspberry Pi Foundation's success is significant, as it was founded in response to a decline in young people applying to study computer science at the University of Cambridge. Eben Upton noticed this trend and decided to create a computer that would be affordable and accessible to every kid, allowing them to experiment and learn about computer science. The foundation's goal is to promote computer science education for young people, and its achievements have made a substantial impact in this area.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation was registered as a charity in May 2009 with UK charity no. 1129409. Since its launch, the foundation has produced and sold millions of Raspberry Pi units, making it a highly successful charity. The foundation's mission to provide affordable computers for young people to learn and experiment with has been achieved, and its impact on computer science education is substantial.