Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo and the Sony name
Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo inside Shirokiya at Nihombashi, Tokyo, in 1946. The company introduced the G-Type tape recorder in 1950 and the TR-55 transistor radio in 1955, adopting the name Sony Corporation in 1958. Recording equipment, semiconductor technology and portable consumer products became important early directions.
Sony subsequently expanded into television and professional imaging. A Japanese recording venture with CBS began in 1968, followed by the acquisition of CBS Records in 1988 and Columbia Pictures in 1989. The PlayStation launched in Japan in 1994. These developments brought electronics and several content businesses into the group's history.
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Developing the Walkman and the Compact Disc
Sony's account of the Walkman describes the recombination of established technologies. Engineers adapted a small Pressman recorder for stereo playback without recording, then combined it with lightweight headphones. The 1979 product brought several departments together around a different use of portable audio.
The Compact Disc required collaboration with Philips. The partners negotiated parameters including quantization, disc diameter and playing time, while engineers addressed errors in reading the recorded data. Bringing players and discs to market in 1982 also depended on optical pickups, semiconductors, suitable materials and manufacturing facilities for recorded music.
The group parent and the electronics company
On April 1,2021 the former Sony Corporation became Sony Group Corporation. Electronics businesses including imaging, home entertainment and sound, and mobile communications were integrated into a company carrying the Sony Corporation name. The same English corporate name therefore refers to a different organizational scope after that date.