Raspberry Pi CEO: stocks will increase again next year
After a period of shortages, the supply of Raspberry Pi single-board computers should increase next year. This is what Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton writes. Availability should also be better than before around the holidays. The Pi Zero is increasing in price.
Eben Upton reports in a blog post that ‘hundreds of thousands’ of Raspberry Pi models will gradually become available through authorized resellers around the holidays. These devices are said to have been set aside in recent months in the run-up to Christmas. This concerns the Raspberry Pi Zero W, 3A+ and the 2GB and 4GB models of the Raspberry Pi 4. The company advises users to stock up via the rpilocator website to keep an eye on if they want to purchase such a model.
Next year the chip supply chain should improve compared to 2022, the CEO writes. According to Upton, inventory from the Raspberry Pi supply chain will remain “lean” in the first quarter of 2023, but should return to pre-coronavirus levels in the second quarter. The stock should be ‘unlimited’ in the second half of 2023, the CEO claims. In the past two years, Raspberry Pis have been poorly available due to the corona pandemic.
Upton indicates that the company continues to work on eliminating its backlog for commercial and industrial customers. However, ramping up consumer single-copy sales will also be a priority in 2023. “The chip allocations we have received for next year mean that the channel will reach its balanced inventory level by the end of the third quarter, with hundreds of thousands of units delivered at each are available at any time,” writes the CEO. This should apply to both commercial and private customers.
The company also indicates that the prices of certain models are being increased as a result of the supply problems. This concerns the Pi Zero, which has a suggested retail price of $10. Previously, that model cost $5. The price of the Pi Zero W will increase from $10 to $15. Upton claims that the company has always had low margins on those devices to date, but that at the original prices it would make a loss on all Pi Zero sales.
The Raspberry Pi factory in Wales. Source: Raspberry Pi Foundation