What was the first product Sony ever produced?
In 2023, Sony made over $23 billion in revenue, and currently employs over 113,000 people all over the world. Yet it has humble beginnings.
In 1946, in the wake of WWII, Masaru Ibuka decided to open up a small electronics shop. Soon an old acquaintance, Morita Akio, joined him, and a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (“Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation”) was formed.
As the company grew, the founders knew they would need a name that was a bit catchier to really be successful. They took the latin for sound, sonus, and the slang word “sonny”, which was a common American slang term for a young boy at the time, and put them together. The pair would continue to work together for another 40 years, transforming it into an electronics giant and ultimately a massive media company, too.
But it all started with their very first commercial product. What was the first thing Sony ever sold?
