AI Boom Forces Raspberry Pi to Raise Prices on Key Models
A post by Raspberry Pi CEO and cofounder Eben Upton details rising cost of some memory chips, and the difficult decision to increased prices.
The Raspberry Pi in its many forms, as we well know, is an integral component in many a maker project. Its high performance for the cost and small form factor make it ideal to build around, be it a simple micro-desktop PC with a fancy case, or something more extravagant, like a magic mirror.
In a blog post detailing the current struggles the popular SBC-maker has in the face of competing demands on its supply chain from the AI space, the company has announced that some 4GB and 8GB models it offers will see $5-$10 price rises.
Starting today, 4GB and 8GB variants of the Raspberry Pi Compute Modules 4 and 5 together will jump by $5 and $10, respectively. Additionally, the Raspberry Pi 500 (unit only) will jump by $10, to $100. There are more changes, too. The Raspberry Pi 500 unit-only is jumping $10, and the Raspberry Pi development kit for the compute module goes up $5, too.
Upton explains that, due to the growing AI market’s need for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) competing with Raspberry Pi’s needs for LPDDR memory from the same factories, shortages and price rises have ultimately left the folks at Pi facing 120% price increases for the chips they need. “We came into this year holding substantial stockpiles of memory, which has allowed us to hold prices flat. However, we’ve now reached the point where we have to pass some of this cost on.”
Such is the pace of the change in the industry, the price increase partially reverses a sweeping price drop Raspberry Pi Ltd (the commercial part of Raspberry Pi that makes and sells the boards) introduced only in May this year. This new change brings affected variants of the Compute Module 4 back up to their old prices.
Things end off with a conciliatory note, though with Upton concluding, “We look forward to reversing them once memory prices return to their long-term downward trajectory.” You can find more details on the Raspberry Pi blog.
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License: The text of "AI Boom Forces Raspberry Pi to Raise Prices on Key Models" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.