rPI Goes Public

https://www.euronews.com/business/2024/06/11/raspberry-pi-shares-rise-by-more-than-a-third-on-london-market-debut
British microcomputer maker Raspberry Pi launched its initial
public offering (IPO) today on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)
after pricing its shares at 280p.
For now, only conditional trading is allowed, which means that
only some select investors will be able to trade the company’s
shares, with the majority of retail investors having to wait
until Friday 14 June, when trading opens for everyone.
Following the IPO however, Raspberry Pi’s shares soared as
high as 392p, with the company revealing that it was hoping
for a valuation of about £541.6 million (€642.48 million).
The Cambridge based group said on its website: “This is a
watershed moment for Raspberry Pi, and the start of a new
phase in our evolution: access to the public market will
enable us to build more of the products you love, faster.
. . .
   Well, we hope for the best.
   However "faster", unto itself, was never what PIs were
   supposed to be all about. They are a kind of halfway
   point between micro-controllers and "real PCs" - a
   neglected niche they filled quite well along with
   a few others like BBBs.
   But what are we looking at now, "Pi Desktops" ?
   "Gamers PIs" ? Sorry, but THOSE niches are packed
   with strong competition, no money to be made.
   I'd SAY the P5 is maybe as far as they should go in
   terms of "performance" now (except that Debian went
   to hell with Worm). More I/O options/interfaces
   might be a more productive direction. SuperMicro
   sells some little 5x5 inch boards that have plugs
   on them for stuff I'd never even heard of in about
   50 years into computers - had to look up some of
   them. Each had, and apparently still have, real-world
   uses. THIS, IMHO, is where PI should be. Kiosk/
   industrial/robotic/whatever-odd-use.
   There are tons of micro-controllers - Ards are good
   and have huge libraries now - and "real PCs" of
   the x86 ilk are just prolific (look up BMax and
   BeeLink if you want 'small'/affordable), but there
   is still room in the middle and PI is a known name.
   Oh ... one RISK of going public, aggressive
   competitors can buy-out, and exterminate.