 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
 Logo used since 1998 | |
 | |
Native name | パイオニア株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Paionia kabushiki gaisha |
| Company type | PrivateKK |
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Founded | 1 January 1938; 88 years ago (1938-01-01) inTokyo, Japan |
| Founder | Nozomu Matsumoto |
| Headquarters | Honkomagome,, Japan |
Key people | Shiro Yahara[1] (President＆CEO) |
| Products | Car audio andautomotive navigation systems,Televisions (CRT Lens and Plasma, former product Smart, Under TCL&Best Buy), PC DVD drives including PC DVD recorders, "set-top"DVD players andDVD recorders, Misc. DJ equipment (sold) |
| Revenue |  ¥365,417 millionYen (2018)[2] |
| ¥1,194 million Yen (2017) | |
| ¥−7,123 million Yen (2017) | |
| Owner | CarUX |
Number of employees | 6,651 (2025) |
| Parent | InnoLux Corporation |
| Website | |
Pioneer Corporation (パイオニア株式会社,Paionia Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanesemultinational corporation based inTokyo, that specializes invehicle audio products. It works with optical disc and display technology and software products and is also a manufacturer.
Pioneer played a role in the development of interactivecable TV, theLaserDisc player, the first automotiveCD player, the first detachable face car stereo, Supertuner technology,DVD andDVD recording, the first AV receiver withDolby Digital,plasma display (with the last 2 years of plasma models being branded asKuro, lauded for their outstanding black levels) andOrganic LED display (OLED).
Founded byNozomu Matsumoto in January 1938 in Tokyo as aradio andspeaker repair shop, its current president is Shiro Yahara. For a period of time, the majority of its shares were held byMitsubishi, while a 3% stake in Pioneer was held by Here B.V., ajoint venture ofBMW,Volkswagen Group andDaimler AG.
Pioneer Corporation traces its origins to 1937, when its founder,Nozomu Matsumoto, developed the A-8 dynamic speaker[3] In January 1938, he establishedFukuin Shōkai Denki Seisakusho, Pioneer’s precursor, in Tokyo, which was later incorporated asFukuin Denki in May 1947. The company introduced the Hi-Fi Speaker PE-8 in December 1953, and in June 1961 changed its name to Pioneer Electronic Corporation. In October that same year, its shares were listed on theTokyo Stock Exchange Second Section, followed by the introduction of the world’s first separatestereo system in June 1962.[3]
The rest of the 1960s saw Pioneer expanding internationally, with the company establishing sales companies inEurope and theUnited States in March 1966, and gaining listings on theTokyo Stock Exchange First Section in February 1968 andOsaka Securities Exchange the next month, as well as on theAmsterdam Stock Exchange (present-dayEuronext Amsterdam) in February 1969, when it also began following theUS GAAP standards. On November 11, 1970, Pioneer,Warner Bros. Records, andWatanabe Productions established Warner Bros.-Pioneer Corporation, serving as Warner Bros. Records’ Japanese distributor. The company introduced theHiPac cartridge format in August 1971, and a year later, Warner Bros.-Pioneer became Warner-Pioneer Corporation, expanding its distribution to includeAtlantic,Reprise,Elektra, andAsylum Records under theWEA group. Pioneer released theRT-1020Lreel-to-reel recorder in 1973 and, in November 1975, unveiled the world’s first componentcar stereo.
The company introduced the Hi-Fi Speaker HPM-100 in 1976, listed shares on theNew York Stock Exchange in December 1976, and in December 1977 developed the world’s first two-way addressableCATV system in the U.S. withWarner Cable. The remainder of the 1970s saw further innovation, including theSX-1980 receiver in 1978 and the first industrialLaserDisc player in February 1979, followed by the VP-1000 LaserDisc player for home use in June 1980. In March 1981, Warner-Pioneer established theLaserDisc Corporation in Japan, and by October 1981 Pioneer had introduced home LaserDisc players and 70 software titles in Japan. Over the next few years, it launched theLDkaraoke system for business use (October 1982), its firstCD player (November 1982), and, in 1984, the world’s firstCD/LD combination player and car CD player. The 40-inchprojection monitor followed in December 1985.[4]
LaserDisc Corporation was renamed Pioneer LDC in 1989, and in June 1990, Pioneer introduced the world’s first CD-basedGPSautomotive navigation system. That same year, Warner-Pioneer was dissolved afterWarner Music Group acquired Pioneer’s shares and rebranded the subsidiary asWarner Music Japan. Pioneer also invested inCarolco Pictures. In 1992, it opened Pioneer Electronic AsiaCentre Pte. Ltd. inSingapore and released the world’s first4x CD-ROM changer. The rest of the early 1990s brought several entertainment ventures: Pioneer acquired a 50% stake inLive Entertainment from Carolco in 1993, established Pioneer Corporation in the U.S. as the American division of Pioneer LDC, and wrote off $90 million in Carolco-related losses by April 1995.
In June 1996, Pioneer’s Tokorozawa Plant earnedISO 14001 certification, and the company launched the Pioneer Karaoke Channel viaAstro satellite television. It introduced the world’s first DVD/LD/CD player for home use in later that year. Between 1997 and 1999, Pioneer released numerous technological firsts: the DVD-based GPS automotive navigation system, the world’s firstDVD-R drive, the firstOEL-equippedcar audio, and the first 50-inch consumerplasma display. It also updated its corporate logo (1999) and changed its English name to Pioneer Corporation.[5]
Entering the 2000s, Pioneer launched aDVD recorder compatible withDVD-RW in December 1999, listed shares of Tohoku Pioneer in 2000, and introduced ahard-disk GPS system in 2001. That same year, it adopted the global brand slogan “sound.vision.soul.” and continued innovating in navigation and recording technologies. In 2003, Pioneer LDC was acquired byDentsu and renamedGeneon Entertainment, with its US branch becomingGeneon USA. Pioneer’s recordableDVD drive shipments surpassed five million units worldwide, and in 2004, it launched theDVJ-X1, the first DVD player for professionalDJs and VJs, as well as the DVR-108, the first16x DVD burner.[6][7][8] That same year, Pioneer Plasma Display Corporation (formerly NEC Plasma Display Corporation) began operations.
In 2006, following financial difficulties, President Kaneo Ito and Chairman Kanya Matsumoto resigned, with Tamihiko Sudo appointed president. Pioneer closed its car audio division later that year. The company showcased ultra-thin plasma concepts in 2007[9][10], developed a 16-layer 400GBBlu-ray Disc in 2008[11], and moved its headquarters fromTokyo toKawasaki in 2009[12], while unveiling theCDJ-900[13] andCDJ-2000[14] DJ players.
On June 25, 2009,Sharp Corporation agreed to form a joint venture on their optical business to be called Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corporation.[15] In 2010, Pioneer exited the TV business and launched DJ controllers such as the DDJ-S1 and DDJ-T1, followed by additional models in 2011.
The rest of the 2010s saw Pioneer continuing to innovate in navigation and DJ technology. It introduced the Cyber NaviAR-HUDaugmented-reality system (2012), wireless DJ system like the XDJ-AERO, and the DJM-750 mixer (2013).
In 2014, in addition to agreeing to sell Pioneer Home Electronics (Home A/V) toOnkyo in September, it sold itsDJ equipment business toprivate equity firmKKR for 59 billionyen (or US$550 million), which ultimately established a separate and independent entity from Pioneer calledPioneer DJ.[16]
In 2018, two years after Pioneer returned to having its headquarters in Tokyo,[17]Baring Private Equity Asia injected 60 billion yen (or US$540 million) to help resolve Pioneer’s debt.[18] Around April,TCL began manufacturing televisions under the Pioneer and Onkyo brands after acquiring the license to do so in all countries outside of Japan; now the TVs haveXumo built in.[19]
In 2019, Pioneer delisted from theTokyo Stock Exchange to pursue restructuring.[20][21][22] A major supply chain disruption occurred in October 2020 after a fire destroyed AKM’ssemiconductor factory—one of Pioneer’s key component suppliers—leading to prolonged replacement delays and criticism over warranty compliance. Despite this, Pioneer continued to release new products, including an in-carWi-Fi router in December 2020, and partnered withCerence in 2021 to developconversational AI systems.[22]
In June 2021,Voxx International announced that it had finalized a licensing agreement with the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands "for all markets, except China" as part of their acquisition of Onkyo.[23] In May 2025, Pioneer announced its withdrawal from theoptical disc drive business, marking the end of an era for one of the company’s original product lines.[24][25]
On December 1, 2025, it was announced that the company had been acquired by CarUX, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturerInnoLux Corporation.[26][27]
Pioneer also supplies genuine audio equipments and head units installed forDaihatsu automobiles marketed in Indonesia since the launch ofDaihatsu Xenia in 2004.
| Country | Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Network | Pioneer Corporation (Japan) Astro (Malaysia) |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur |
| Programming | |
| Languages | Teochew Chinese Cantonese Taiwanese |
| Picture format | SDTV (480i4:3) PAL (576i4:3) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Pioneer Corporation (Japan) Astro (Malaysia) |
| History | |
| Launched | January 1996 |
Pioneer Karaoke Channel (Chinese:先鋒卡拉OK頻道;pinyin:Xiān Fēng Kǎ Lā OK Pín Dào) is asatellite television channel that featuresAsianmusic videos and karaoke 24 hours a day. Pioneer and Malaysian satellite broadcasterAstro officially launched on 1 June 1996.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(July 2020) |
Pioneer is one of the major vendors ofoptical drives.[33]
More recent optical drives allow the user to specify different operation modes using bundled software:
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
