Philips

Philips, officially Koninklijke Philips N.V., is a Dutch company that now focuses on health technology but was once a giant in consumer electronics. It started in 1891 in Eindhoven, founded by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik to make incandescent light bulbs. The company moved its main offices from Eindhoven to Amsterdam starting in 1998, and they remain there today. Queen Wilhelmina granted Philips the Dutch Royal designation in 1916, though "Koninklijke" wasn't added to the legal name until 1998.

Over the 20th century, Philips grew into a large electronics conglomerate, making everything from kitchen appliances and electric shavers to lighting and televisions. 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 role in entertainment through its majority stake in PolyGram, which it sold to Seagram in 1998.

Starting in the 2010s, Philips gradually 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. The Domestic Appliances business was sold off in 2021, becoming an independent company called Versuni in 2023.

As of 2025, Philips has three main business segments: Diagnosis & Treatment, Connected Care, and Personal Health. Diagnosis & Treatment covers image-guided therapy and precision diagnosis, including MRI, CT, and ultrasound technologies. Connected Care includes patient monitoring, enterprise informatics, and sleep and respiratory care, notably through Respironics. Personal Health covers personal care, oral healthcare, and mother-and-child-care products, such as electric shavers, Sonicare toothbrushes, and Avent products.

Philips trades on Euronext Amsterdam as PHIA and on the New York Stock Exchange as PHG, and it's part of the Euro Stoxx 50 index. Major past acquisitions include Signetics in 1975 and Magnavox in 1974. The Philips Sports Association, which includes football club PSV Eindhoven, was set up in 1913 for employees.

**History**

**Founding and early expansion** Philips & Co. was founded 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 became N.V. Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken on 11 September 1912. It opened its physics lab, later called the NatLab, in 1914, where research led to advances in lighting, radio, and medical X-ray equipment. Philips got the Dutch Royal designation from Queen Wilhelmina in 1916, though "Koninklijke" wasn't in the legal name until 1998. In 1924, it 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 through Philips Omroep Holland-Indië (PHOHI). Eddie Startz started presenting the Happy Station on PCJJ in 1928, and the program continued on Dutch international radio after World War II. During the 1930s, Philips expanded its consumer electronics. In 1939, it introduced the Philishave rotary electric shaver, invented by engineer Alexandre Horowitz.

**Stirling-engine research** Philips helped revive the Stirling engine in the 20th century. In the 1930s, engineers at its lab looked into the engine as a power source for portable radios where mains electricity or reliable batteries weren't available. Development 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, with one practical use being 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 6 December 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 many civilian deaths and destruction in surrounding areas. During the occupation, a workshop staffed by Jewish prisoners operated at the Vught concentration camp for Philips-related production. Of 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 maker of televisions, audio gear, and other consumer electronics, while continuing in lighting and medical technology. In August 1963, Philips introduced its first Compact Cassette recorder at the Funkausstellung.