The Raspberry Pi Interactive Timeline · 2006–2026

Deutsch English The idea is born in Cambridge At the University of Cambridge, Eben Upton notices that fewer and fewer young people are applying to study computer science — and that the applicants lack the hands-on tinkering experience of the home-computer generation. The first Atmel-based prototypes are built: still a long way from the later Pi, but the mission is already set — a computer so cheap that every kid can experiment with one. Source: Raspberry Pi Foundation ↗ The Raspberry Pi Foundation is founded Together with allies from academia and industry — including Broadcom colleagues and Cambridge lecturers — Eben Upton founds the Raspberry Pi Foundation. In May 2009 it is registered as a charity (UK charity no. 1129409). Its stated goal: promoting computer science education for young people. Source: UK Charity Commission ↗ 25 beta boards — 10 of them auctioned on eBay The first 25 final beta boards are manufactured. In early 2012 the Foundation auctions ten of them off on eBay in a well-publicised campaign — individual boards fetch four-figure sums and fund the final polish before launch. The auctions give the upcoming $35 computer its first taste of international fame. Source: Wikipedia (launch history) ↗ Launch: Raspberry Pi Model B for $35 On leap day 2012, the first Raspberry Pi goes on sale. The rush for the $35 computer with its 700 MHz ARM chip and 256 MB of RAM takes down the servers of both distributors, Farnell and RS Components, within minutes — the Foundation itself has to switch its website to a static page. The plan had been a small production run for British school kids; it turned into the beginning of the best-selling British computer of all time. Source: raspberrypi.com (launch retrospective) ↗ Raspbian becomes the recommended operating system Raspbian — a Debian build optimised for the Pi’s hardware, started as a community project by Mike Thompson and Peter Green — becomes the officially recommended system. It marks the start of the Debian lineage that the Pi’s operating system follows to this day. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ “Made in the UK”: production moves to Wales Manufacturing moves from China to the Sony factory in Pencoed, Wales — and most Raspberry Pis still roll off the line there today. For an electronics product in this price class, bringing production back to Europe was unheard of in 2012. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Model B gets 512 MB of RAM At no extra cost, the Foundation doubles the Model B’s memory from 256 to 512 MB. It is the first example of a pattern that stays with the Pi for years: more performance for the same price. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Model A: the $25 variant The stripped-down Model A (256 MB RAM, one USB port, no Ethernet) reaches Europe. Drawing only a third of the Model B’s power, it becomes the first choice for battery-powered projects and robotics. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ The first Camera Module (5 MP) For $25, the Pi gets its first official accessory board: a 5-megapixel camera for the CSI port. Time-lapses, birdhouse cams and surveillance projects quickly make the camera the most-used Pi accessory of all. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ 1.75 million sold — 1 million made in Wales Eighteen months after launch, the Foundation reports 1.75 million Pis sold, one million of them built at the Sony plant in Pencoed. The tinkerer’s computer is definitively no longer a niche product. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Compute Module: the Pi goes industrial The Pi in SODIMM format kicks off the industrial line: companies can now build Pi technology straight into their own products. Along the way, the education project becomes an embedded supplier — today, industrial and embedded customers account for over two-thirds of sales. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Model B+: 40 GPIO pins and microSD become standard The B+ locks in the layout that still applies today: 40-pin GPIO header, microSD slot, four USB ports and the familiar mounting holes. Thanks to that decision, practically every HAT expansion board of the past ten years fits every modern Pi. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspberry Pi 2: quad-core and 1 GB of RAM Four cores instead of one, 1 GB of RAM, same price: according to the Foundation, the Pi 2 is “six times faster” than its predecessor. For the first time the Pi actually feels usable as a desktop machine — and Microsoft announces Windows 10 IoT Core for the Pi in parallel. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ 5 million: the best-selling British computer With five million units sold, the Raspberry Pi overtakes the legendary ZX Spectrum and becomes the best-selling British computer of all time — three years after launch. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ The official 7-inch touch display After years of development (including an EMC certification odyssey), the first official display arrives: 7 inches, 800×480, touch — the starting signal for countless Pi-based smart home panels, kiosk systems and car dashboards. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi Zero: the $5 computer on a magazine cover The Pi Zero undercuts every price barrier — and the Foundation sticks it onto the cover of its own MagPi magazine as a free gift. A full Linux computer at the newsstand: the issue sells out within hours. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Astro Pi: two Raspberry Pis fly to the ISS Two specially hardened Pis with Sense HATs launch to the International Space Station alongside ESA astronaut Tim Peake. Ever since, tens of thousands of school kids have run their own code in orbit every year — still one of Europe’s biggest STEM education programmes. Source: astro-pi.org (ESA) ↗ Pi 3: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth move in Right on time for the fourth birthday (another leap day!), the Pi 3 arrives — for the first time with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on board and a 64-bit-capable quad-core. The dongle sprawl on the USB ports comes to an end, and the Pi finally becomes the standard building block for the connected home. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ 10 million Raspberry Pis sold Four and a half years after launch, ten million Pis have been sold — Eben Upton had originally expected 10,000 in total. The first official starter kit is released to mark the milestone. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Zero W: wireless for the smallest Pi For its fifth birthday, the Zero gets Wi-Fi and Bluetooth — for $10. IoT projects, smart cameras and retro handhelds no longer need a USB adapter. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi 3 B+: a speedy polish on Pi Day More clock speed (1.4 GHz), Gigabit Ethernet (attached via USB), dual-band Wi-Fi and PoE readiness: the B+ is the most mature version of the Pi 3 generation — fittingly released on Pi Day, 14 March. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi 3 A+: the last Model A The A line gets its send-off: full Pi 3 performance in the compact A format for $25. No successor has appeared to this day — anyone building small has reached for the Zero ever since. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi 4: USB 3, dual 4K and your choice of RAM The Pi 4 brings USB 3.0, true Gigabit Ethernet, two 4K HDMI outputs — and for the first time a choice of RAM (1, 2 or 4 GB, later 8). The $35 entry price stays, but from now on the Pi is also a serious desktop and server machine. One sore point: the first revision has a USB-C charging flaw that acts up with “smart” cables. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspbian becomes Raspberry Pi OS — and the Pi 4 gets 8 GB Along with the 8 GB variant of the Pi 4, the Foundation renames its operating system: Raspbian becomes Raspberry Pi OS, and the 64-bit beta launches in parallel. The new name positions the system as an official product — the Debian base stays. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Compute Module 4: farewell to the SODIMM format The CM4 switches to compact board-to-board connectors and brings PCIe into the Pi world for the first time — officially only for industrial customers, though. The community builds anyway: NAS boards, routers and the first NVMe experiments all emerge on a CM4 basis. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi 400: the computer inside a keyboard In the middle of the homeschooling year, the Pi 400 appears: a complete computer in a keyboard case for $70 — a deliberate bow to the home computers of the ’80s whose spirit once inspired the Foundation. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pico & RP2040: the first in-house chip With the $4 Pico microcontroller, Raspberry Pi steps into Arduino territory — and with the self-developed RP2040 becomes a chipmaker for the first time. The step from board builder to silicon designer shapes everything that comes after. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Zero 2 W: quad-core in the Zero format The Zero 2 W packs a quad-core into the unchanged Zero footprint — made possible by a custom system-in-package (RP3A0). For $15, even more demanding software now runs on the smallest Pi. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Chip shortage: the Pi becomes scarce The global semiconductor crisis hits the Pi with full force: boards are sold out for months, scalpers charge absurd prices, and the Foundation officially prioritises industrial customers. Things only ease up in mid-2023 — a dent that briefly gives the competition (Orange Pi & co.) a boost. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pico W: Wi-Fi for six dollars The Pico goes wireless: for $6, the microcontroller becomes a fully-fledged IoT platform. Sensors that beam their readings straight into your Wi-Fi now cost less than a lunch. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspberry Pi 5 with the in-house RP1 I/O chip The Pi 5 brings the second in-house design: the RP1 chip handles all of the I/O. For the first time, PCIe is officially accessible — the foundation of the NVMe boom that finally turns the Pi into a server and desktop machine. On top of that come a power button and a real-time clock, two of the most-requested features ever. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspberry Pi OS “Bookworm”: Wayland becomes the default With its Debian 12 base (“Bookworm”), Raspberry Pi OS switches the desktop to Wayland — as one of the first major Linux systems to do so. The move brings smoother graphics, but also breaks a few old tool workflows. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspberry Pi Connect: official remote access With Connect, there is finally an official way to control your Pi remotely — desktop and shell in the browser, without port forwarding or VPN fiddling. For beginners, one of the biggest hurdles of headless operation simply disappears. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ AI Kit: the gateway to local AI Together with Hailo, Raspberry Pi releases a 13 TOPS AI accelerator as an M.2 HAT for $70. Real-time object detection now runs locally on the Pi 5 — no cloud required. The starting shot for the AI product line. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ IPO on the London Stock Exchange Raspberry Pi Holdings plc goes public on the London Stock Exchange. The charitable Foundation remains the majority shareholder — the education legacy and the commercial arm have been formally separated ever since. Among other things, the IPO funds the company’s own chip development. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pico 2 & RP2350 — now with RISC-V too The second in-house microcontroller chip, the RP2350, offers freely selectable RISC-V cores alongside its ARM cores for the first time — a remarkable statement in favour of the open processor architecture. The Pico 2 stays at $5. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ AI Camera: AI right inside the camera sensor The AI Camera with Sony’s IMX500 runs neural networks directly in the sensor — the Pi receives ready-made detection results instead of raw images. AI image processing now works even on a Zero. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ AI HAT+: up to 26 TOPS on the Pi 5 The AI HAT+ integrates the Hailo accelerator directly onto the board — with 26 TOPS in the top variant. Analysing video from several cameras at once becomes an everyday job on the Pi 5. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Touch Display 2: the 7-incher goes modern Nine years after the first touch display comes its successor: 720×1280, five-finger touch, slimmer design — at the unchanged $60 price. The standard panel for smart home hubs finally gets a contemporary resolution. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Compute Module 5 Pi 5 technology in the industrial format: the CM5 brings PCIe, USB 3 and up to 16 GB of RAM to the embedded world — pin-compatible with the CM4, which makes switching easy for manufacturers. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi 500 and the first official monitor The Pi 500 puts Pi 5 technology into the keyboard case, flanked by the first official Raspberry Pi monitor (15.6″, Full HD, $100). Together they form, for the first time, a complete desktop setup from a single source. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Pi 5 with 16 GB of RAM For $120, the Pi 5 is now available with 16 GB — four times as much as the former flagship Pi 4. The target audience: local AI models, larger container setups and everyone who seriously uses the Pi as a desktop. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ 68 million Raspberry Pis sold The first annual report after the IPO puts total sales at 68 million units. For perspective: the Foundation’s original goal was 10,000 units for British schools. Source: Raspberry Pi Holdings, Annual Report 2024 ↗ Pi 500+: mechanical keyboard and NVMe out of the box The most expensive Pi product to date: for $200, the Pi 500+ combines 16 GB of RAM, a 256 GB NVMe SSD and a mechanical RGB keyboard. Raspberry Pi is openly aiming for the desk now — no longer just the workbench. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspberry Pi OS “Trixie” The new major release based on Debian 13 (“Trixie”) brings a reworked desktop with a modular Control Centre and a fresh look. The Debian lineage that began with Raspbian in 2012 enters its fourteenth year. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Raspberry Pi Imager 2.0 The most important beginner’s tool is rewritten from scratch: Imager 2.0 modernises the path from blank SD card to running system — including a reworked interface and better preconfiguration. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ RAM price crisis: the end of the “ever cheaper” era Exploding memory prices force Raspberry Pi into broad price increases for the first time — and into a 1 GB Pi 5 for $45. Another round of increases follows in February 2026. The story of the ever-cheaper Pi, told since 2012, ends here. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ AI HAT+ 2: generative AI on the Pi The second generation of the AI accelerator targets generative models: language models and image generators now run locally on the Pi 5 — right in line with the trend of running AI assistants like OpenClaw entirely at home. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ The curious 3GB Pi 4 Not an April Fools’ joke: with 4 GB chips scarce and expensive, the Pi 4 appears in a 3 GB variant for $83.75 — a child of the RAM crisis and probably the most unusual model in Pi history. At the same time, prices for further models rise once again. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ Touch Display 2 in 10 inches The Touch Display 2 gets a big brother: 10 inches for $80. Smart home dashboards and kiosk applications finally get an official tablet-sized panel. Source: raspberrypi.com ↗ 50 events, each backed by a primary source · Last updated: August 2026 · raspberry.tips Frequently asked questions about the history of the Raspberry Pi The first Raspberry Pi (Model B) went on sale on 29 February 2012 for 35 US dollars. Demand was so high that the servers of both distributors, Farnell and RS Components, collapsed on launch day. “Raspberry” follows the tradition of British computer companies naming themselves after fruit (Apple, Acorn, Apricot). “Pi” refers to the Python programming language, which was the recommended language for the computer from day one. According to the annual report of Raspberry Pi Holdings, around 68 million units had been sold by March 2025. That makes the Raspberry Pi the best-selling British computer of all time — it broke the ZX Spectrum’s record back in 2015. Since 2021: the RP2040 microcontroller chip in the Raspberry Pi Pico was the first in-house design. It was followed by the RP1 I/O chip in the Raspberry Pi 5 (2023) and the RP2350 in the Pico 2 (2024), which offers RISC-V cores alongside ARM. Partly: since the IPO on 11 June 2024, Raspberry Pi Holdings plc has been a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange. The charitable Raspberry Pi Foundation remains the majority shareholder, however, and continues to fund computer science education with the proceeds. Sources and methodology All event dates on this page come from the original announcements on raspberrypi.com (the publication date of each announcement) and are linked directly at the event. Additional sources: the UK Charity Commission register (founding dates of the Foundation), the investor relations pages of Raspberry Pi Holdings plc (sales figures from the annual reports) and ESA’s astro-pi.org. Events without a day-precise primary source (such as the 2006 prototype phase) are deliberately listed with the year only. Updates and changes This page is updated whenever something big happens in the Raspberry Pi world. Last updated: August 2026 (added: 10-inch Touch Display 2, the 2026 RAM price developments). Missing an event that belongs on the timeline? Drop me a line via the contact form.