In a current episode of Tom’s {Hardware}: The Pi Forged, Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton revealed that 10 million RP2040 chips have been made since 2021 and that there could possibly be extra Raspberry Pi shops opening sooner or later.
500 Wafers Equals 10 Million RP2040s
Tom’s {Hardware} Editor-in-Chief and The Pi Forged co-host Avram Piltch requested Upton “Why are there no scarcity of RP2040 based mostly merchandise?” and Upton’s reply “We took some large dangers” result in the revelation that Raspberry Pi bought 500 wafers in 2021.
The provide and subsequent choice to buy 500 wafers got here by means of inside a day, Upton stated. Per wafer there might be between 21,000 and 22,000 RP2040 die with a die dimension of roughly 2mm sq.. Upton then compares the “large chip world” the place dies are 30 mm sq.. The unique BCM2835 SoC (as used within the unique Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi Zero) is predicated on this tech.
From a wafer, the yield is roughly 2000 die for 30mm. Newer chips, equivalent to these within the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and Raspberry Pi 4 use a 45mm sq. die, respectively the BCM2710 and BCM2711 packages. From a wafer Raspberry Pi anticipate to make 1400 die.
Upton then does the maths and from 500 wafers, every yielding round 21,000 die, there are round 10 million RP2040 chips.
This “stockpile” of chips from 2021 are what many people eager Pico customers are at the moment consuming, be it within the type of Raspberry Pi Pico , Pico W or third-party boards. Upton then talks about what’s “successfully an infinite provide [of RP2040]” based mostly upon what number of die might be created per wafer. It is a refreshing assertion, given how international provide chains have been hit by the pandemic.
Upton is eager to steer lovers to the Raspberry Pi Pico / RP2040 and backs this up by stating that he desires the Pico to be a product that by no means runs out and says that he has gone so far as to strategically buy “thousands and thousands of items” of the numerous different elements that make up the board (buck / increase converter, Wi-Fi and many others). These bulk purchases imply that it’s just about unimaginable for the Raspberry Pi Pico to exit of inventory.
Extra Raspberry Pi Shops To Come
In the course of the present, co-host Ash Hill requested Upton about opening extra Raspberry Pi shops, and Upton talked a couple of potential enlargement abroad. In accordance with Upton, India has an enormous Raspberry Pi neighborhood and it could possibly be a viable location for a future retailer. This might be the primary retailer not based mostly within the UK.
Positioned within the coronary heart of Cambridge, the Raspberry Pi retailer is discovered on the primary ground of the Grand Arcade shopping center. Opened in February 2019, the shop affords Raspberry Pi, equipment and books from Raspberry Pi itself, and plenty of of its companions. The shop is extra than simply gross sales. Usually there are occasions, gatherings and it appears conferences.
Opening in 2019, the shop had barely a 12 months of buying and selling earlier than the pandemic struck, with UK Authorities pointers successfully closing all non-essential retail shops throughout a sequence of lockdowns. 2022 was the primary “full” 12 months of buying and selling for the shop, with Authorities Covid restrictions lifted.
Upton hinted at a potential second Raspberry Pi retailer within the UK, with Leeds seeking to be a candidate. Proper now an prolonged “pop-up” retailer seems probably, giving Raspberry Pi time to grasp “what the subsequent chapter” seems like.
Raspberry Pi has different, “pop-up” shops round the UK. The primary pop-up was on London’s prestigious Oxford Road and since then the shop has moved across the UK to Gateshead and Edinburgh. For 2023 the shop is again on tour and might be travelling as far south as Southampton, then on to Birmingham, Leeds and eventually again to Gateshead.
