Raspberry Pi soars 40% as CEO buys stock, AI chatter builds

By Danilo Masoni

MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Shares in Raspberry Pi RPI.L rose as much as 42% on Tuesday in a record two‑day rally after CEO Eben Upton bought stock in the beaten‑down UK computer hardware firm, halting a months‑long slide, as chatter grew that its products could benefit from low‑cost artificial‑intelligence projects.

Two London traders said the driver behind the surge was not clear, though the move followed a filing showing Upton bought about 13,224 pounds worth of shares at around 282 pence each on Monday. The stock is still about 50% below a record high hit a year ago.

The rally in the roughly $800 million company has materialised alongside social-media buzz that demand for its single‑board computers could pick up as people buy them to run AI agents such as OpenClaw.

X user @aleabitoreddit, who has more than 58,000 followers, posted on Monday: “Fun Trade Idea: Long $RPI (Raspberry Pi),” claiming buyers have recently begun hoarding the devices because they are far cheaper than “$500‑plus Apple products.”

Asked about the share price move, Raspberry Pi said: “There’s nothing from the company side beyond what’s already in the public domain.”

By 1454 GMT, the shares were up about 27%, topping gainers on the FTSE 250 .FTMC. Earlier this month, the stock fell below its 280‑pence IPO price.

In January, Raspberry Pi said its 2025 core earnings would be ahead of expectations but warned its 2026 outlook was clouded by volatility in the supply and pricing of memory