The recent surge in demand for artificial intelligence technology has led to a notable price increase for various Raspberry Pi single-board computers. Effective immediately, the prices for the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 models have risen by $5 to $25. The specific rise depends on the model and the RAM capacity.
Impact on Raspberry Pi Prices
The 16GB memory variants of the Compute Module 5 will now cost $140, reflecting a $20 increase. CEO Eben Upton acknowledged the influence of rising memory prices due to the competitive AI infrastructure rollout. He mentioned that while the situation is challenging, it is expected to be temporary. Raspberry Pi remains hopeful about reversing these price hikes in the future.
New Raspberry Pi 5 Variant
In a silver lining, Raspberry Pi has introduced a new variant of the Raspberry Pi 5 featuring 1GB of RAM, priced at $45. This model includes a quad-core 2.4GHz Arm Cortex-A76 processor, dual-band Wi-Fi, and a PCI Express slot.
The Broader Impact of AI Demand
The rising costs are not only affecting Raspberry Pi but also impacting other businesses. CyberPower PC has announced that it will not hold holiday sales on memory products, highlighting the ongoing challenges in the sector. The AI industry’s insatiable appetite for RAM and GPUs is straining supply chains globally.
- Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 prices up by $5 to $25.
- Compute Module 5’s 16GB variant now starts at $140.
- New 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 variant priced at $45.
- CEO discusses temporary nature of price hikes.
As the competition for resources continues, the implications of AI demand will likely have lasting effects on the tech industry.
