Koninklijke Philips N.V., commonly known as Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company and former major consumer electronics manufacturer. The company was founded in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik Philips to manufacture incandescent light bulbs. In October 1997, Philips decided to move its corporate headquarters from Eindhoven to Amsterdam, with the relocation beginning the following year. The company's headquarters remain in Amsterdam. Philips was awarded the Dutch Royal designation by Queen Wilhelmina in 1916; Koninklijke became part of the company name in 1998. Through the 20th century, Philips developed into a large electronics conglomerate, producing products ranging from kitchen appliances and electric shavers to lighting equipment and televisions. Philips introduced the compact cassette format, which became a widely adopted standard for tape recording. The company later collaborated with Sony in developing the compact disc standard. Philips also became a major participant in the entertainment industry through its controlling interest in PolyGram, which it sold to Seagram in 1998. From the 2010s, Philips progressively shifted its focus toward health technology. Its television business was transferred to the TP Vision joint venture in 2012. Its lighting business was separated from Philips in 2016 and renamed Signify in 2018. Philips completed the sale of its Domestic Appliances business in 2021; the independent company was renamed Versuni in 2023. As of 2025, Philips reports three main business segments: Diagnosis & Treatment, Connected Care and Personal Health. Diagnosis & Treatment includes image-guided therapy and precision diagnosis, including technologies used for MRI, CT and ultrasound. Connected Care includes patient monitoring, enterprise informatics, and sleep and respiratory care, including activities associated with Respironics. Personal Health includes personal care, oral healthcare, and mother-and-child-care products, including electric shavers, Sonicare electric toothbrushes and Avent products.
Philips is listed on Euronext Amsterdam under the symbol PHIA and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PHG. It is also a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 index. Historical acquisitions included Signetics in 1975 and Magnavox in 1974. The Philips Sports Association, which includes the football club PSV Eindhoven, was founded in 1913 for Philips employees.
History
Founding and early expansion
Philips & Co. was founded in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik Philips to manufacture incandescent electric lamps. Gerard's younger brother Anton Philips joined the company in 1895 and helped expand its commercial operations.
The business was converted into N.V. Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken on 11 September 1912. Philips opened its physics laboratory, later known as the NatLab, in 1914. Research at the laboratory contributed to the company's later work in lighting, radio technology and medical X-ray equipment. Philips received the Dutch Royal designation from Queen Wilhelmina in 1916, although Koninklijke did not become part of the company's legal name until 1998. In 1924, Philips joined other major lamp manufacturers, including Osram, in the Phoebus cartel.
Radio and consumer products
In March 1927, experimental shortwave transmissions from the Philips laboratories in Eindhoven using the PCJJ transmitter were received in the Dutch East Indies. Philips subsequently participated in international shortwave broadcasting, including broadcasts associated with Philips Omroep Holland-Indië (PHOHI). Eddie Startz began presenting the Happy Station through PCJJ in 1928. The program later continued on Dutch international radio after the Second World War.
During the 1930s, Philips expanded its consumer-electronics activities. In 1939, the company introduced the Philishave rotary electric shaver, invented by Philips engineer Alexandre Horowitz.
Stirling-engine research Philips played a role in the 20th-century revival of the Stirling engine. During the 1930s, engineers at the company's research laboratory investigated the engine as a possible source of power for portable radio equipment in places where mains electricity or reliable batteries were unavailable. Development continued during and after World War II. By the late 1940s, Philips had developed a generator set known as the MP1002CA, or "Bungalow set". Falling power requirements for transistor radios, however, reduced the commercial need for such generators. Philips continued research into Stirling technology for several decades. One practical application was the reversed Stirling engine used as a cryocooler.
World War II Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, several senior Philips executives left the country, while Frits Philips, the son of Anton Philips, remained in Eindhoven. On 6 December 1942, the Royal Air Force carried out Operation Oyster, a low-level bombing raid against Philips industrial sites in Eindhoven that were producing components used by the German war economy. The raid severely damaged Philips facilities and also caused substantial civilian casualties and destruction in surrounding parts of Eindhoven. During the German 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 were alive at the end of 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 its operations. The company became a major producer of televisions, audio equipment and other consumer electronics while continuing its activities in lighting and medical technology.
In August 1963, Philips introduced its first Compact Cassette recorder at the Funkausstellung exhibition in Berlin. The Compact Cassette subsequently became an international standard for recorded and recordable audio.
In the early 1970s, Philips introduced the N1500 videocassette recorder. The Science Museum Group describes the N1500 as the first practical domestic video recorder; it incorporated a television tuner and timer and recorded programs onto video cassettes.
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