Overview
Sony Group Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, developing robotics including the Aibo ERS-1000 companion robot dog. Sony's robotics division has produced multiple generations of Aibo since 1999, with the ERS-1000 being the latest production model featuring AI-powered personality development and cloud-connected behaviors.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 4 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Product
Category
Tickersee public companies →
Aibo history
Financial stage
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
Sony System
Sony Group Japanese multinational electronics, gaming, and imaging.
Current platform
Sony Aibo ERS-1000
The Sony Aibo ERS-1000 is an AI-powered robotic dog launched by Sony in January 2018. A nose-mounted fish-eye camera identifies faces, colors, shapes, and motion; a separate SLAM camera maps room layouts for autonomous navigation. Four microphones enable voice interaction with responses to 50+ commands. The robot recognizes up to 100 faces and develops a unique personality over time through cloud-based learning, requiring a mandatory AI Cloud Plan subscription and LTE SIM card. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. Priced at approximately $2,899 in the US market.
Partnerships
Every company Sony Corporation has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1AWS1× joint30 total
- 2Bandai Namco Holdings1× joint
- 3KADOKAWA Corporation1× joint
- 4NVIDIA1× joint132 total
- 5Raspberry Pi1× joint
- 6TSMC1× joint2 total
Most recent
- with University Research Laboratoriesjust announced
- Sony x TSMC (Image Sensor Joint Venture)2026-05-08with TSMCoperating
- with Bandai Namco Holdingsjust announced
- with KADOKAWA Corporationjust announced
- ZMP x Sony (Aerosense Drone JV)2015-08-03with ZMPoperating
Sony Corporation on the deployment map
View the global map4 verified deployments across 4 regions, newest verified Jan 2024. Explore where Sony Corporation's robots are operating, by place and type.
- operationalSony Aibo ERS-1000 at United States →United States · verified Jan 2024
- operationalSony Aibo ERS-1000 at Japan (Foster Parent Program) →Japan · verified Sep 2023
- pilotSony Aibo ERS-1000 at Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan →Tokyo Metropolis · verified Jul 2022
- operationalSony Aibo ERS-1000 at Japan →East Asia · verified Jan 2018
View the full Sony Corporation deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (3)
- Hiroki Totoki President & CEO, Representative Corporate Executive Officer (since Apr 2025)secondary-verified
- Hiroaki Kitano Chief Technology Fellow (served as CTO 2022-2025)secondary-verified
- Kenichiro Yoshida Chairman and CEOSEC-verified
Founders (2)
- Akio Moritacofounderno longer at company
- Masaru Ibukacofounderno longer at company
Former / Previously (2)
- Masaru Ibuka Co-founder (1946)secondary-verified
- Akio Morita Co-founder (1946)secondary-verified
Media (1)
Company-anchored media. Official assets the company has published at the company level, distinct from model-anchored media that lives on individual product pages.
Safety record
No incidents on record for Sony Corporation.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Sony Corporation4 deployments
Recent coverage
Sony Corporation in third-party press
Peers
13 peers across 1 segment. Every Sony Corporation competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
quadruped(13)
12 companies in this segment · highly_concentrated (HHI 4981.70981935126) · leader Boston Dynamics at 5660%
- ANYboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Asylon Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Boston Dynamicsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- DEEP Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Ghost Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- LimX Dynamicsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Mentioned on (24)
Registry pages whose text names Sony Corporation.
Companies (5)
Noetra, Lucid Vision Labs, Walden Robotics, Tier IV, Qualcomm
Robots and products (9)
Boxfish ROV, A200-XT, Basler ace Camera, ZR30 Gimbal Camera, Prophesee Sensor, MATRIX VISION Camera, Lucid Triton Camera, Mech-Eye 3D Camera, Xiaodu Pro AI Glasses
Partnerships
8 total · 5 operating · 3 just announced · 1 ended
Every company Sony Corporation has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- with University Research Laboratoriesjust announced
- Sony x TSMC (Image Sensor Joint Venture)2026-05-08with TSMCoperating
- with Bandai Namco Holdingsjust announced
- with KADOKAWA Corporationjust announced
- ZMP x Sony (Aerosense Drone JV)2015-08-03with ZMPoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1AWS1× joint30 total
- 2Bandai Namco Holdings1× joint
- 3KADOKAWA Corporation1× joint
- 4NVIDIA1× joint132 total
- 5Raspberry Pi1× joint
- 6TSMC1× joint2 total
All 8 partnerships
open in the atlas →- sony-group x nvidiawithNVIDIA132technology—operating
- sony-group x awswithAWS30technology—operating
- manufacturing—operating
- joint venture2026-05-08operating
- Sony Aibo x University Research CollaborationwithUniversity Research Laboratoriesdevelopment2026-07-17announcedjust announced
- Sony x Bandai Namco (Strategic Partnership)withBandai Namco Holdingsdevelopment2025-07-24announcedjust announced
Timeline
Every recorded move in Sony Corporation’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Started supplyingBecame supplier to DJI
2026-08-23Supply: CMOS image sensors for DJI cameras to DJI
New supplierNew supplier: Nidec Corporation
2026-08-23Supply: Servo motors for Aibo actuation from Nidec Corporation
New supplierNew supplier: NVIDIA
2026-08-23Supply: GPU for Aibo vision from NVIDIA
New supplierNew supplier: Qualcomm
2026-08-23Supply: Snapdragon SoC for Aibo from Qualcomm
Started supplyingBecame supplier to Apple
2026-08-23Supply: Sony image sensors for iPhone to Apple
Started supplyingBecame supplier to Tesla
2026-08-23Supply: Sony image sensors for Tesla to Tesla
Started supplyingBecame supplier to Mobileye
2026-08-23Supply: Sony image sensors for Mobileye to Mobileye
PartnershipSony Aibo x University Research Collaboration
2026-07-17Sony announced a research collaboration with two university laboratories to expand future capabilities of the aibo entertainment robot. Sony provided prototype aibo models and beta-version development tools to support research in physical AI and robotics, with results showcased at SIGGRAPH 2026.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJul 23, 2026
Sony Group Corporation logo
- Record createdJun 16, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2024
Sony Aibo ERS-1000 at United States
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedSep 11, 2023
Sony Aibo ERS-1000 at Japan (Foster Parent Program)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJul 1, 2022
Sony Aibo ERS-1000 at Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Sources (1)
- AIBO - Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO
Common questions
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Is Sony Corporation safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-10
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-10
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Sony Corporation.Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- DEEP Robotics5 models
- Xiaomi3 models
- GENISOM AI2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Sony Corporation from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Sony AI Announces Breakthrough Research in Real-World Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Sony AI published research in Nature introducing 'Ace,' the first robot to beat elite human players in competitive table tennis, demonstrating physical AI that perceives, decides,…
Physical AI Daily: Japan sovereign AI strategy, humanoid robot updates
Japan establishes national strategy for sovereign physical AI. Humanoid robot products moving into routine deployment. Noetra alliance with SoftBank, Sony, NEC, Honda.
Japan rallies tech-giant alliance to build sovereign AI - Noetra
Japan launched Noetra sovereign AI alliance with SoftBank, Sony, NEC, Honda, and AIST. Government-backed foundation model. Focus on physical AI with 10M robot goal by 2040.
Sony AI Announces Breakthrough Research in Real-World Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Sony AI announces breakthrough research demonstrating physical AI that can perceive, decide, and act faster than humans in real-world robotics tasks.
New Sony AIBO Robot Dog Speaks English and Spanish
Sony's AIBO entertainment robot gets language upgrades with English and Spanish support.
Sony Group Sustainability Report 2025
Sony Group sustainability report 2025 covers AI and robotics initiatives, Aibo entertainment robot, and responsible AI development.
Sony Group Corporation — Wikipedia
Sony Group Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. NYSE: SONY listed.
Aibo — Sony Official Site (US)
Sony official Aibo site featuring Espresso Edition and Kinako Edition variants with AI-powered personality development.
Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) — Financial Overview
Sony Group expects JPY 13.2T sales, JPY 1.335T operating income. CEO changes effective April 2025. NYSE: SONY listed.
Robotic Dogs Market: Sony introduces Aibo Kinako Edition
Sony introduces Aibo Kinako Edition, a two-tone color variant of its robotic dog with new eye color options.
Zen and the Art of Aibo Engineering
IEEE Spectrum covers Sony Aibo engineering, revealing how calm behaviors make the robot dog appear more lifelike.
AIBO — Wikipedia
AIBO is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony since 1999, with the ERS-1000 as the latest production model.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/sony.md
- RSS feed: /companies/sony/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/b73dc065-c5a7-479f-8a9e-5fb6e49ebe43
- Revision history: /companies/sony/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- DEEP Robotics5 models
- Xiaomi3 models
- GENISOM AI2 models
Video
#philstarnews #tabletennis #ai AI TABLE TENNIS ROBOT Robots can run a half-marathon, box, and now beat elite human table tennis players, Sony's artificial in
Robotics Package provides all of the basic functionality required to productize specialized robots or robot-driven systems, allowing customers to focus on build
Easy Setup - Deployable on day one without complex system integration. Intuitive UI - Featuring an intuitive app for easy call-and-dispatch operations. Easy Sca
Get ready to stay ahead of the curve with Tech Gear, the brand-new flagship Technology show from Business Today! Whether you are tracking the biggest industry
Can Sony's $2,900 robot canine possibly live up to the real thing? The Post's Geoffrey A. Fowler compares Aibo to a real (adorable) puppy to find out. Subscribe
Did you know that it’s extremely difficult for even the most experienced surgeons to acquire microsurgery skills? We’re talking stitching together small blood v
Packed with charm, AI and cloud technology, Sony’s rebooted robot dog doesn’t come cheap. Read more here: https://tcrn.ch/2LlwOiH TechCrunch is a leading tec
Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will entirely stop the production of physical discs for new PlayStation games. Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs Lik
Awesome Sony robots in Japan! They move really smoothly and quickly for machines. I'm impressed.
Sony’s advanced robot Ace has gone head to head with elite athletes, showcasing incredible speed, precision and reaction times far beyond human capability. With
Dec. 24th 2005 at the SONY building in Tokyo, Japan. QRIO on the left has a new camera, the wrists bend, the hands pivot, and the thumbs work independent of the
Sony Revealed it's microsurgery assistance robot capable of automatic surgical instrument exchange and precision control. #Robot #Robotics #Sony
See Sony's aibo in action playing in the Sony CES 2019 Booth. Learn more about #SonyCES here: bit.ly/2SonyCES Learn more about aibo here: http://bit.ly/aiboU
Sony is showing off its new surgical robot tool. The prototype was recently unveiled at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' International Con
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for free here: https://sc.mp/subscribe-youtube Sony has released a robotic dog that is meant to do scheduled checks on family
Heat Index
Serious60/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Sony Corporation draws attention at the 84th percentile but verifies reality at the 77th percentile among other robots. Hype Gap +7.3, 120th widest among other robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 4 verified deployments. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Nov 1, 2026