Sony-backed computing startup heads for rare IPO in sidelined London stock market

British computing startup Raspberry Pi on Wednesday said it plans to list in London, in a rare win for the U.K. stock market.

Raspberry Pi, which makes tiny single-board computers, is considering an initial public offering on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. In a filing, the company said it plans to publish a registration document to make disclosures about its business as part of the IPO process.

The IPO is a win for the London stock market, which has been struggling to attract high-growth tech companies. A slew of major U.K. tech firms have chosen New York over London for their listings over the last year.

British chip designer Arm listed in September 2023 on the Nasdaq in New York, in a major blow to London's bid to attract large tech listings. More recently, British retail tech pioneer Ocado has faced calls from investors to move its listing from London to New York, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Sky News reported on Tuesday that Klarna is eyeing up New York as the preferred venue for a highly anticipated IPO slated for early 2025. A Klarna spokesperson said the company has nothing to share on the location of an eventual IPO.

The IPO serves as an opportunity for the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the firm's majority shareholder and a charity promoting the study of computer science, to double down on its "outstanding work to enable young people to realise their potential through the power of computing," said Raspberry Pi CEO and founder Eben Upton.

Raspberry Pi produces the iconic line of small single-board computers of the same name, which are roughly the size of a credit card and have been used to build everything from high-altitude balloons to small radio-controlled submarines.

The company is backed by Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony and British chip designer Arm.

Upton established Raspberry Pi in 2012 to make computing more accessible to young people, gaining traction among hobbyists and teachers in the early days. The company has since become a much larger business, with sales of 60 million units in over 70 countries to date. Around 72% of the firm's unit sales come from commercial customers embedding its products into factories or consumer devices.

Raspberry PI said Wednesday that it posted revenues of $265.8 million in the year ending December 2023, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization reaching $43.5 million.