News Raspberry Pi announces 'expected intention to float' on London Stock Exchange

[Admin]

Raspberry Pi's IPO is almost here and in its 'expected intention to float' announcement it lays out a plethora of financial data.

Raspberry Pi announces 'expected intention to float' on London Stock Exchange : Read more

 

[Giroro]

Every publicly traded company has exactly one goal: Make all the profit in the world, no matter what.

So what is the next big thing for the FOSS community to support? It's only a short matter of time before a John Riccitiello or Bobby Kotick type (or maybe the real deal, they're both available) seizes control of the company and ruins everything for every developer, forever. Things move fast now, UnityTechnology was only public for 3 years before their products became completely untouchable for all developers - and Unity wasn't ever marketed for FOSS. Raspberry Pi is donezo, and we can't live in denial about it forever.
There's no point in waiting around for the inevitable AI app store where they hoover up free passion projects, launder them through an LLM, and start selling them back to us. Or maybe they'll start charging us per OS or app install, or maybe they'll lock GPIO functionality behind a subscription service.
I don't know what a lootbox, battlepass, or even really "hardware as a service" looks like in the context of a Raspberry Pi, but we will eventually find out... Their leadership will have the fiduciary responsibility to consider every possibility, and implement every single thing they think might boost the bottom line.
It's healthier to make our escape plan now, before the situation gets pathetic.

 

[usertests]

Raspberry Pi is donezo, and we can't live in denial about it forever.

Raspberry Pi had already split itself into two entities, the charity Raspberry Pi Foundation, and Raspberry Pi Ltd which it owned. So it's not necessarily "donezo".

 

[bit_user]

...

OMG. Cynical much?

Why is it apparently so important to be first to show moral outrage that you've had to create an entire fantasy scenario to get upset over? Maybe just chill and see how it plays out. You can certainly convey your apprehensions without ginning up such an elaborate story.

P.S. consider that most of Raspberry Pi's competitors are for-profit companies and some of them make very decent products (e.g. HardKernel's ODROID series, for instance), often better than Raspberry Pi's own. If the new entity falters, I trust there'll be enough others that can jump in and fill the breach.

 

[Fludonludon]

I agree with Giroro. I have seen companies with good moral intentions go down in flames as soon as the bean counters determine that they are worth a few dollars. Soon Raspberry Pi will be ripe for the picking. The door has opened. Large dollar offers are difficult to pass-up, but even the most principled companies are no match for the mega hedge funds or other investment entities.
Well Raspberry Pi it has been excellent run.

 

[bit_user]

I have seen companies with good moral intentions go down in flames as soon as the bean counters determine that they are worth a few dollars.

I'm sure there are plenty of counterexamples, as well.

Also, I wonder if it matters that Raspberry Pi is incorporated in the UK. They surely have different corporate laws and investor rights, over there.

 

[Fludonludon]

I'm sure there are plenty of counterexamples, as well.

Also, I wonder if it matters that Raspberry Pi is incorporated in the UK. They surely have different corporate laws and investor rights, over there.

I certainly hope your right.