# An Interview with Matt Richardson - Raspberry Risorgimento Regent

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2015-02-05
- Length: 1h 14m
- Episode: 235
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/235-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent/

## Summary

Matt Richardson, the first US employee of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, discusses the platform's evolution, including the release of the Raspberry Pi 2 with its quad-core ARMv7 processor and 1GB RAM. He details the 'Hats' specification for expansion boards, which uses an EEPROM to automate driver configuration, and explains how the foundation balances its $35 educational mission with commercial products like the Compute Module. Richardson also shares insights from his personal projects, such as the 'Awesome Button' and 'Descriptive Camera,' highlighting his approach to integrating existing technology blocks for creative applications.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=0) Introduction: Matt Richardson and the Raspberry Pi Foundation
- [1:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=93) Foundation Structure, Team Size, and Sales Volume
- [4:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=267) The Problem of Orphaned Boards and Inventory Management
- [6:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=370) The Hat Specification and EEPROM Configuration
- [9:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=578) Personal Projects: The Awesome Button and Enough Already
- [14:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=854) Sketching in Hardware and the ITP Program
- [19:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=1183) The Descriptive Camera and Mechanical Turk Integration
- [36:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=2172) Raspberry Pi 2: ARMv7, Performance, and OS Support
- [43:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=2637) Proprietary Broadcom Chipset and Open Hardware Trade-offs
- [50:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-02-05-an-interview-with-matt-richardson-raspberry-risorgimento-regent#t=3055) US Education Strategy, Pi Academy, and Compute Module

## Topics

- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Raspberry Pi (product)
- Raspberry Pi Foundation (company)
- Arduino (product)
- Teensy (product)
- BeagleBone (product)
- Adafruit (company)
- Mechanical Turk (other)
- Raspbian (other)
- Ubuntu (other)
- Compute Module (product)
- Odroid C1 (product)
- Minecraft (product)
- Piper (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Electromaker Interview: Eben Upton - Raspberry Pi creator!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2022-07-05-electromaker-interview-eben-upton-raspberry-pi-creator) (The Electromaker Show)
- [Ep 221: The Future of the Raspberry Pi, Sniffing a Toothbrush, Your Tactical Tool Threshold](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-06-02-ep-221-the-future-of-the-raspberry-pi-sniffing-a-toothbrush-your-tactical-tool-t) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Ep 375: Rebuilding Tech on Our Terms and the Hero Nerd](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2026-06-26-ep-375-rebuilding-tech-on-our-terms-and-the-hero-nerd) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Documentation as Code: A chat with Alasdair Allan from Raspberry Pi](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2022-07-21-documentation-as-code-a-chat-with-alasdair-allan-from-raspberry-pi) (The Electromaker Show)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2014-09-24-the-spark-gap-episode-15) (The Spark Gap)

## Citing this page

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