Philips

Philips, officially Koninklijke Philips N.V., is a Dutch multinational that now focuses on health technology, though it was once a major player in consumer electronics. The company got its start in 1891 in Eindhoven, when Gerard Philips and his father Frederik set up shop to make incandescent light bulbs. In 1997, the company decided to move its main office from Eindhoven to Amsterdam, with the move starting the next year; the headquarters are still there. Queen Wilhelmina granted Philips the Dutch Royal designation in 1916, but the word "Koninklijke" wasn't added to the official company name until 1998.

Over the 20th century, Philips grew into a large electronics conglomerate, churning out everything from kitchen gadgets and electric shavers to lighting and TVs. It created the compact cassette format, which became a standard for tape recording, and later worked with Sony to develop the compact disc. Philips also had a big hand in the entertainment industry through its controlling stake in PolyGram, which it sold to Seagram in 1998.

Starting in the 2010s, Philips steadily moved toward health technology. Its TV business went to a joint venture called TP Vision in 2012. The lighting division was spun off in 2016 and renamed Signify in 2018. Philips sold its Domestic Appliances business in 2021, and that independent company became Versuni in 2023. As of 2025, Philips has three main business segments: Diagnosis & Treatment (covering image-guided therapy and precision diagnosis, including MRI, CT, and ultrasound tech), Connected Care (patient monitoring, enterprise informatics, and sleep and respiratory care, including Respironics), and Personal Health (personal care, oral healthcare, and mother-and-child products like electric shavers, Sonicare toothbrushes, and Avent items).

Philips trades on Euronext Amsterdam under PHIA and on the New York Stock Exchange under PHG, and it's part of the Euro Stoxx 50 index. Past acquisitions include Signetics in 1975 and Magnavox in 1974. The Philips Sports Association, which runs the football club PSV Eindhoven, was founded in 1913 for company employees.

**History**

**Founding and early expansion** Philips & Co. was set up in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik to make incandescent electric lamps. Gerard's younger brother Anton joined in 1895 and helped grow the business. The company was turned into N.V. Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken on September 11, 1912. Philips opened its physics lab, later called the NatLab, in 1914. Research there led to advances in lighting, radio tech, and medical X-ray equipment. Philips got the Dutch Royal designation from Queen Wilhelmina in 1916, though "Koninklijke" didn't become part of the legal name until 1998. In 1924, Philips joined other big lamp makers, like Osram, in the Phoebus cartel.

**Radio and consumer products** In March 1927, experimental shortwave transmissions from Philips labs in Eindhoven, using the PCJJ transmitter, were picked up in the Dutch East Indies. Philips then got involved in international shortwave broadcasting, including programs tied to Philips Omroep Holland-Indië (PHOHI). Eddie Startz started hosting the Happy Station on PCJJ in 1928; the show later continued on Dutch international radio after World War II. During the 1930s, Philips expanded its consumer electronics. In 1939, it launched the Philishave rotary electric shaver, invented by Philips engineer Alexandre Horowitz.

**Stirling-engine research** Philips helped revive the Stirling engine in the 20th century. In the 1930s, engineers at its research lab looked into the engine as a possible power source for portable radios in places without mains electricity or reliable batteries. Work continued during and after World War II. By the late 1940s, Philips had a generator set called the MP1002CA, or "Bungalow set." But falling power needs for transistor radios reduced the commercial demand for such generators. Philips kept researching Stirling technology for decades. One practical use was the reversed Stirling engine as a cryocooler.

**World War II** After Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, several top Philips executives left the country, but Frits Philips, Anton's son, stayed in Eindhoven. On December 6, 1942, the Royal Air Force carried out Operation Oyster, a low-level bombing raid on Philips industrial sites in Eindhoven that were making parts for the German war effort. The raid badly damaged Philips facilities and also caused heavy civilian casualties and destruction in nearby parts of Eindhoven. During the German occupation, a workshop staffed by Jewish prisoners operated at the Vught concentration camp for Philips-related production. Of the 469 Jewish prisoners who worked there, 382 survived the war. Frits Philips was later recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for his efforts to protect Jewish workers.

**Postwar expansion and consumer electronics** After World War II, Philips rebuilt and expanded. It became a major producer of TVs, audio gear, and other consumer electronics, while also keeping up its lighting and medical tech work. In August 1963, Philips introduced its first Compact Cassette recorder at the Funkausstellung.