Sony’s First Product Wasn’t a TV… It Was a Rice Cooker

Sony's Electric Rice Cooker

When you think of Sony, you probably picture PlayStations, cameras, or giant TVs. But did you know the company’s first product was actually… a rice cooker?

In the late 1940s, when Sony was still called Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, the founders were experimenting with ways to enter the electronics market. Their first attempt was a wooden rice cooker that used simple electrodes to heat the rice.

There was just one problem: it didn’t work very well. The cooker often burned the rice or left it undercooked because there was no way to control the temperature.

Luckily, the company didn’t give up. They went on to pioneer radios, TVs, Walkmans, and the PlayStation—proving that even a rough start can lead to groundbreaking success.