The founder of Raspberry Pi refers to Apple as “the other fruit company”. Despite having a market cap of £731 million, which is significantly smaller than Apple’s $3.4 trillion valuation, Raspberry Pi is solidifying its significant presence in the UK technology sector.

Often mistaken as a company that produces mere “toy” computers for children, recent results from the FTSE 250 company underscore its serious impact and relevance in the tech industry.

Three months after its debut on the London Stock Exchange, Raspberry Pi’s stock has risen to 371p, reflecting a 33% increase since its launch price of 280p.

With supply chain challenges subsiding, Raspberry Pi reported a more than 60% increase in sales for the first half of the year, totaling $144 million.

While some backlog issues persist, the company appears poised to move beyond these constraints.

The image of Raspberry Pi as a simple educational venture originates from its founding as the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity aimed at generating interest in computing among children.

Eben Upton, the creator of Raspberry Pi, developed the affordable, credit-card-sized computer in response to low enrollment in computer science courses during his tenure as a director at Cambridge.

This initiative led to the establishment of the business itself. Today, its industrial segment, which accounts for over 70% of sales according to IPO documentation, has evolved beyond the original focus on hobbyist products.

Manufactured by Sony in Pencoed, Wales, Raspberry Pi products are utilized by major corporations, including Heathrow Airport, for flight information display systems.

With its status as a PLC, the company anticipates an expansion in customer relationships and senior-level discussions in the near future.

Additionally, Raspberry Pi is diversifying into several profitable avenues.

In the first half of the year, the company sold 2.1 million semiconductors, a significant rise from 1.6 million units the previous year. Although this revenue is currently minimal, it indicates a long-term strategy of selling individual components, as opposed to solely completed Raspberry Pi units.

This year also saw the rollout of a cloud platform dubbed Connect, priced at $6 annually, which has already attracted 50,000 users and interest from over a hundred enterprises for a commercial version.

Upton has expressed optimism about evolving this platform into a more generic offering, highlighting possibilities in providing components for those building technological solutions independent of Raspberry Pi devices.

In terms of artificial intelligence, Raspberry Pi is collaborating with Hailo to develop specific hardware to enhance AI functionalities.

There exists ample opportunity for geographic expansion; more than half of the company’s customers are currently located in the UK, with 18% in the US and 16% in Europe. Given its backing from firms like Arm and Sony, Raspberry Pi is well-positioned to extend its global reach.

However, not all market observers are optimistic. JPMorgan and Premier Miton hold short positions against the company. Potential re-emergence of supply chain issues may lead to increased costs and delays, particularly given its reliance on silicon imports from Taiwan, which presents geopolitical challenges.

On the morning of Raspberry Pi’s first earnings announcement post-IPO, CEO Upton appeared upbeat, dismissing these challenges and affirming that the company’s essence remains “fun”.

In a testament to its legacy, Upton noted that some of the new graduate engineers starting today were introduced to computing through Raspberry Pi devices.

While harder to quantify than hardware sales, the company’s playful spirit continues to play a crucial role in the UK tech landscape and its wider significance.