What Libre Computer does

Libre Computer is a privately held open-source hardware company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, that designs and sells single board computers (SBCs) and compute modules powered by Amlogic, Allwinner, and Rockchip system-on-chips. Its product portfolio spans three generations — the original Tritium, La Frite, and Le Potato boards; the second-generation Cottonwood platforms including Alta (AML-A311D-CC, with a 5 TOPS AI accelerator), Solitude (AML-S905D3-CC, with a 1.2 TOPS AI accelerator), and Sweet Potato V2 (with SystemReady IR compliant UEFI BIOS); and Renegade/Renegade Elite boards based on Rockchip processors. The company's defining technical commitment is an upstream-first software approach: it contributes directly to the mainline Linux kernel and U-Boot and ships minimal proprietary firmware, enabling broad distribution support across Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Raspbian, Armbian, LibreELEC, and Android, plus Raspberry Pi form-factor compatibility for mezzanine accessories.

The business model is hardware sales — SBCs, compute modules, and accessories sold direct via libre.computer and through authorized distribution partner Loverpi.com. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; commercial inquiries are routed through a contact form. Go-to-market is community-led: a 24/7 community hub (hub.libre.computer), IRC, Discord, GitHub, and social channels drive engagement, while a network of partner open-source consultancies supports complex commercial projects. The customer base is horizontal, spanning commercial edge AI and embedded computing (primary), education and maker communities, and media/digital signage use cases. Libre Computer employs 11-50 people, has no disclosed funding rounds, and does not name specific enterprise customers in the provided source material.

A notable differentiator is the 10-year hardware availability commitment combined with supply-chain quality control and automated stress testing, addressing the industry-wide problem of abandoned SBC platforms and orphaned vendor kernels. The AI accelerator integration on Cottonwood platforms positions the company in the edge AI/computer vision segment, while power-efficient designs (1W-10W) and software-defined hardware integration via device-tree overlays provide application flexibility for embedded sensing and control systems.

Name

Libre Computer

Legal name

Libre Computer

Website

https://libre.computer

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Libre Computer designs and sells open-source single board computers and compute modules powered by Amlogic, Allwinner, and Rockchip SoCs, with mainline Linux support, Raspberry Pi compatibility, and integrated AI accelerators. It serves commercial edge AI, maker/education, and digital signage customers globally via direct e-commerce and Loverpi.com distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Single Board Computers

NAICS

Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (3341)

SIC

Electronic Computers (3571)

akta.pro primary industry

System-on-Chip (SoC) Platforms (Mobile/Consumer/Embedded) (HDAHAJAC)

Keywords

• Single board computers
• Open source hardware
• ARM compute modules
• Edge AI platforms
• Embedded Linux boards

Headquarters

HQ city

Shenzhen

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Single Board Computer Hardware Sales: Sale of open-source hardware platforms including SBCs, compute modules, and mezzanine accessories. Products are available for purchase through the website and distribution partners.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Libre Computer designs, manufactures, and sells open-source single board computers (SBCs) and compute modules powered by Amlogic, Allwinner, and Rockchip ARM SoCs, with products ranging from Raspberry Pi-compatible boards to AI-accelerated edge computing platforms. The company also provides open-source software support (mainline Linux kernel and U-Boot), a mezzanine wiring toolchain for software-defined hardware integration, and community/commercial support services for developers, makers, educators, and embedded commercial customers.

Product overview

Libre Computer offers a portfolio of open-source hardware single board computers and compute modules powered by Amlogic, Allwinner, and Rockchip System-on-Chips. The product lineup centers on three platform generations: the original Tritium/La Frite/Le Potato boards, the second-generation Cottonwood platforms (Alta, Solitude, Sweet Potato) with integrated AI accelerators and advanced interfaces, and the Renegade/Renegade Elite boards based on Rockchip processors. Alta AML-A311D-CC serves as the flagship with 5 TOPS AI capability for Edge AI applications, while Solitude AML-S905D3-CC offers cost-effective MIPI interface support. Sweet Potato AML-S905X-CC-V2 provides an updated mainstream option with UEFI BIOS. Compute module variants (AML-S905D3-CM, AML-A311D-CM) extend the platforms for embedded applications. All products feature upstream-first software support with mainline Linux kernel and U-Boot, long-term hardware availability, and Raspberry Pi-compatible form factors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alta AML-A311D-CC Second-generation Cottonwood SBC with a 5 TOPS AI accelerator, Amlogic A311D SoC (quad performance + dual efficient ARM cores), 4K HDR HDMI 2.0, MIPI CSI/DSI, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and PoE support, designed for Edge AI IoT applications with upstream open-source software.
• Solitude AML-S905D3-CC Second-generation Cottonwood SBC with 1.2 TOPS AI accelerator, Amlogic S905D3 SoC, MIPI CSI/DSI via 22-pin connector, USB 3, Gigabit Ethernet, and PoE support, offering Raspberry Pi 4-level performance at half the power consumption in a Raspberry Pi 3 form factor.
• Sweet Potato AML-S905X-CC-V2 Modernized mainstream SBC with Amlogic S905X SoC, onboard UEFI BIOS with disable switch, USB Type-C power input, PoE mezzanine support, anodized heatsink, eMMC mounting points, and SystemReady IR compliance for multi-boot, targeted at education, commercial, and light industrial use cases.
• Le Potato AML-S905X-CC First-generation SBC with Amlogic S905X SoC and 2GB DDR4 RAM, maintaining Raspberry Pi GPIO layout compatibility and standard Linux distribution support.
• La Frite AML-S805X-AC Compact low-power SBC with Amlogic S805X SoC in AC form factor based on Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+, designed for space-constrained applications requiring efficient power consumption.
• Tritium ALL-H3-CC SBC featuring Allwinner H3 or H5 SoC in CC form factor, supporting various memory and connectivity options under the mainline Linux and U-Boot upstream-first software stack.
• Renegade ROC-RK3328-CC SBC featuring Rockchip RK3328 SoC in CC form factor, supporting mainline Linux kernel and U-Boot with upstream open-source software.
• Renegade Elite ROC-RK3399-PC High-performance SBC featuring Rockchip RK3399 SoC in PC form factor with dual-core Cortex-A72 and quad-core Cortex-A53 processing and advanced connectivity options.
• Solitude Compute Module AML-S905D3-CM Compute module variant of Solitude compatible with Raspberry Pi CM4 IO, offering the same 1.2 TOPS AI accelerator and connectivity in a module format for embedded applications.
• Alta Compute Module AML-A311D-CM Compute module variant of Alta compatible with Raspberry Pi CM4 IO, providing the same 5 TOPS AI accelerator and advanced computational capabilities in a module format.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Network of Partner Open-Source ConsultanciescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLibre Computer works with a network of partner open-source consultancies for assistance with complex projects involving any of their platforms. These specialists provide roadmap guidance and implementation support for commercial projects.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Raspberry Pi Foundation: Raspberry Pi is the dominant SBC manufacturer with the largest ecosystem; Libre Computer explicitly designs around Pi form factors and positions against Pi's proprietary kernel forks.
• Orange Pi: Orange Pi builds low-cost Allwinner and Rockchip SBCs targeting makers and education, directly competing on price and form factor with Libre Computer's Le Potato and Tritium boards.
• Khadas: Khadas makes high-performance Amlogic and Rockchip SBCs (VIM, Edge) with mainline Linux support, competing in the same Edge AI and maker segments as Libre Computer's Alta and Solitude.
• Banana Pi: Banana Pi designs ARM SBCs and compute modules with Raspberry Pi compatibility, overlapping with Libre Computer's CC and CM form factor products.
• Hardkernel (ODROID): Hardkernel produces ODROID SBCs with Samsung and Amlogic SoCs and mainline Linux support, directly overlapping with Libre Computer's developer and embedded customer base.
• Radxa (Rockchip-based SBCs): Radxa produces Rock Pi and similar SBCs using Arm SoCs with mainline Linux support, directly competing with Libre Computer's Renegade and Cottonwood lines.
• BeagleBoard.org Foundation: BeagleBoard produces open-source SBCs (BeagleBone, BeaglePlay) with mainline Linux support, targeting education and industrial segments similar to Libre Computer's Sweet Potato use cases.
• Pine64: Pine64 designs open-source SBCs (RockPro64, Pinebook) using Rockchip SoCs with mainline Linux, sharing Libre Computer's open-source and community-driven ethos.

Broad incumbents

• ASUS (Tinker Board line): ASUS Tinker Board is a Rockchip-based SBC positioned as an enterprise-grade alternative to Raspberry Pi, overlapping with Libre Computer's commercial and embedded customer segments.
• NVIDIA (Jetson line): NVIDIA's Jetson platform dominates Edge AI computing with powerful GPU-based modules; Libre Computer competes at the lower power/price end of the same Edge AI workload market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/librecomputer
• GitHubgithub.com/libre-computer-project
• Facebookfacebook.com/librecomputer
• Instagraminstagram.com/librecomputer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/libre-computer

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Libre Computer