From: lkcl <lkcl@web>
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2021 15:22:59 +0000 (+0000)
Subject: (no commit message)
X-Git-Tag: convert-csv-opcode-to-binary~276
X-Git-Url: https://git.libre-soc.org/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=248e0e8ab604c948e326adfb989908fae920fb3b;p=libreriscv.git

---

diff --git a/22nm_PowerPI.mdwn b/22nm_PowerPI.mdwn
index 9f64e6b24..770d3fe28 100644
--- a/22nm_PowerPI.mdwn
+++ b/22nm_PowerPI.mdwn
@@ -19,6 +19,27 @@ With enough direct customers, VC funding may not even be needed.  This is
 a preferred route that is not unreasonable and has been achieved before
 in the Silicon Industry.
 
+**Why was the Raspberry Pi successful?**
+
+As a dedicated Set-Top Box / IPTV solution, the initial Pi processor,
+the 700 mhz ARM11 BCM2835, was only available from Broadcomm in
+Minimum Order  Quantities (MOQ) of 5 million and above.  The *only reason*
+that it went into the Raspberry Pi at all (selling in far smaller quantities) was because Eben Upton was an employee of Broadcom and had access to NDA'd internal datasheets.  Crucially: on
+learning that it was to be deployed in an Educational market, Broadcom
+could not exactly say "no".
+
+Even efforts by the Raspberry Pi Foundation to see a non-Broadcom processor
+be developed and deployed have not been successful because a Pi-only-centric
+processor does not have a large enough market share to justify the NREs.
+
+**The lesson here is that a low-cost processor must cover multiple markets
+to be successful**.
+
+Consequently the Libre-SOC "POWER Pi" is designed to enter multiple
+disparate large-volume markets: the Educational and Open aspects
+may thus be considered an essential part of the P.R. rather than as
+major sales opportunities.
+
 # Specs for 22/28nm SOC
 
 **Overall goal: an SoC that is capable of meeting multiple markets:**