Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

, and

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The company has offices throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of input and interface devices for personal computers (PCs) and other digital products. It is a component of the flagship

Swiss Market Index The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is Switzerland's blue-chip stock market index, which makes it the most followed in the country. It is made up of 20 of the largest and most liquid Swiss Performance Index (SPI) stocks. As a price index, the SMI is ...

. The company develops and markets personal peripherals for PC navigation, video communication and collaboration, music and smart homes. This includes products like

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, tablet accessories, headphones and headsets,

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

speakers,

universal remote A universal remote is a remote control that can be programmed to operate various brands of one or more types of consumer electronics devices. Low-end universal remotes can only control a set number of devices determined by their manufacturer, whi ...

s and more. Its name is derived from ''logiciel'', the French word for software.

History

Logitech was founded in

Apples, Vaud Apples is a former municipality in the district of Morges in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. On 1 July 2021 the former municipalities of Apples, Cottens, Pampigny, Sévery, Bussy-Chardonney and Reverolle merged into the new municipality of Ha ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in 1981 by

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

alumni

Daniel Borel Daniel Borel (born 14 February 1950) is a Swiss businessman and co-founder of technology firm Logitech. Education In 1973, Daniel Borel earned an engineering degree in Physics from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, ...

and Pierluigi Zappacosta, and former

Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been part of ...

engineer Giacomo Marini. For a time during its formative years, Logitech's

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

offices occupied space at 165 University Avenue,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

, home to a number of noted technology startups. In 2001, Logitech acquired

Labtec Labtec Inc. was a manufacturer of computer accessories, founded in Vancouver, Washington, United States in 1982. They were best known for their budget range of peripherals such as keyboards, mice, microphones, speakers and webcams. Originall ...

for $150 million in order to expand its range of computer peripherals. In 2007, Logitech licensed

Hillcrest Labs Hillcrest Labs was a sensor processing technology company that developed freespace motion-control technology and developed the first motion-controlled remote for television.''The Washington Post'' May 1, 2011. Steven OverlyAs the TV market shift ...

' Freespace motion control technology to produce the MX Air Mouse, which allows a user to use natural gestures to control a PC.''Techspot'' 13 July 2007
Logitech's MX Air Mouse with freespace motion control
''Popular Mechanics'' 1 October 2009
Logitech's MX Air Cordless Laser Mouse: Best Pointer We've Tried (with Video).
In August 2008, Logitech acquired

Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears is an American custom in-ear monitor (IEM), Wireless speaker, speaker, and earphone manufacturer based in Irvine, California, Irvine and Newark, California, United States. The custom in-ear monitor company was founded by Mindy and ...

, supplier of custom

in-ear monitor In-ear monitors (IEMs) are devices used by musicians, audio engineers and audiophiles to listen to music or to hear a personal mix of vocals and stage instrumentation for live performance or recording studio mixing. They are also used by telev ...

s for professional musicians and

speakers for the consumer market. In December 2008, Logitech announced that it had manufactured one billion mice since 1985. In December 2009, Logitech acquired video conferencing equipment maker Lifesize Communications. In July 2011, Logitech acquired the mobile visual communications provider Mirial. In January 2013, Bracken Darrell became Logitech's chief executive officer; then-CEO Guerrino De Luca continued as Logitech's chairman of the board. In January 2016, Logitech spun off the video conferencing equipment maker Lifesize. In April 2016, Logitech agreed to pay penalty related to accusations that it and some former executives improperly inflated the company's results for its 2011 fiscal year to meet guidance and other accounting violations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the alleged accounting issues left investors without an accurate view of the Swiss company's finances. On 12 April 2016, Logitech announced that they had agreed to acquire Jaybird, a leader in wireless audio wearables for sports and active lifestyles, for , with an additional earnout of up to based on achievement of growth targets. On 15 September 2016, Logitech announced that they had purchased the

Saitek Saitek is a designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics founded in 1979 by Swiss technologist Eric Winkler. They are best known for their PC gaming controllers, mice, keyboards, and their numerous analogue flight controllers such as joystic ...

brand and assets from

Mad Catz Mad Catz Global Limited (formerly Mad Catz Interactive, Inc.) is an American Chinese-based company that provides interactive entertainment products marketed under Mad Catz, GameShark (gaming products) and TRITTON (audio products). Mad Catz distr ...

for . On 25 March 2017, Logitech signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

as the Official Technology Peripherals Partner. The deal would later be extended to McLaren's eSports endevours under the Logitech G brand in 2020. On 11 August 2017, Logitech acquired

Astro Gaming ASTRO Gaming is an American consumer electronics manufacturer specializing in video gaming headsets, peripherals, and accessories. Overview ASTRO Gaming’s predecessor, Astro Studios, partnered with Microsoft on the industrial design for the ...

, makers of professional gaming equipment (mainly headsets), for . On 30 July 2018, Logitech announced that they had purchased Blue Microphones for . On 26 September 2019, Logitech acquired

Streamlabs Streamlabs (formerly ''TwitchAlerts'') is a California-based software company founded in 2014. The company primarily distributes livestreaming software. Streamlabs was acquired by Logitech in 2019. Overview Streamlabs was founded in 2014 as T ...

, producer of software and tools for live-streaming, for approximately $89 million. In the same year, they also acquire Challonge, a webtool used to manage e-sport tournament brackets. On 29 July 2021, Logitech, in collaboration with choreographer

JaQuel Knight JaQuel Knight (born August 6, 1989) is an American choreographer and dancer. Born in North Carolina and raised in Atlanta, he has worked with Beyoncé on many of her most notable dances, including on " Single Ladies", " Formation" and the hist ...

, introduced its #Creators4BIPOC initiative under the Logitech For Creators brand. It allows social media creators, particularly

BIPOC The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

influencers, to copyright and monetize their online creations by making it possible for

choreographers Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

who amplify attention to hits by major artists in the entertainment business to secure

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

of their choreography using

Labanotation Labanotation (the grammatically correct form "Labannotation" or "Laban notation" is uncommon) is a system for analyzing and recording human movement. The inventor was Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), a central figure in European modern dance, who d ...

and earn royalties from it.

Production

The first Logitech mice, starting from the P4, were made in

Le Lieu Le Lieu is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the Vallée de Joux. History Le Lieu is first mentioned in 1155 as ''loco dompni Poncii heremite'' ("in the place of lord Poncius th ...

, in the Swiss

Canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

by Dubois Dépraz SA. Production facilities were then established in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

before being moved to

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

, China. , the manufacturing operations in China produce approximately half of Logitech's products. The remaining production is outsourced to

contract manufacturer A contract manufacturer (CM) is a manufacturer that contracts with a firm for components or products (in which case it is a turnkey supplier). It is a form of outsourcing. A contract manufacturer performing packaging operations is called copacker ...

s and original design manufacturers in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Logitech product lines

Logitech Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...

– worldwide (except in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where it is known as

Logicool Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...

) for PC peripherals,

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

s, security cameras, mice, keyboards, webcams, computer speakers, and accessories for smartphones and tablet keyboards and covers. * Logitech video collaboration, including all B2B video conferencing equipment. * Logitech MX – flagship computer accessories (mice and keyboards). * Logitech C – computer

s (cameras). * Logitech G – gaming products. *

–

s, wireless

Speakers and universal-fit

earphone Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...

s. * Jaybird – wireless bluetooth sport earbuds. *

Slim Devices Slim Devices, Inc. was a consumer electronics company based in Mountain View, California, United States. Their main product was the Squeezebox network music player which connects to a home ethernet or Wi-Fi network, and allows the owner to stream d ...

– audio brand. *

– purchased on 15 September 2016, from

. *

Logitech Harmony Logitech Harmony is a line of remote controls and home automation products produced by Logitech. The line includes universal remote products designed for controlling the components of home theater systems (including televisions, set-top boxes, D ...

– programmable remote controls. * Logitech F – wired and wireless gamepads. See also

List of Logitech products This is a list of various Logitech products. Individual products may have their own article. Software Old software may be retrieved from the tp://ftp.logitech.com/pub/techsupport/00_README.TXT Logitech Tech Support FTP server but one should alwa ...

Gallery

File:SmakyMouseAG.jpeg, The Logitech P4 (1981) was the world’s first commercially available mouse. File:Logitech Logimouse Cable 1983.jpg, Logitech’s second-generation mouse, the Logimouse (1983) File:Logitech C7 mouse-IMG 8428-white.jpg, A transparent version of the C7 mouse (1985), the first serial mouse to draw its supply voltage directly from the serial port File:Logitech FotoMan-P4191197-white.jpg, Logitech FotoMan, an early digital camera File:Logitech-maeuse-enter-museum-2021.jpg, Logitech mice in the

Enter Museum Enter is a museum for computer and consumer electronics in the Swiss town of Solothurn. Now a non-profit foundation ("Stiftung ENTER"), it originated as the project of Swiss entrepreneur Felix Kunz. It is the largest private technology collection ...

(Switzerland) File:Logitech M171 Blue Mouse.jpg, A contemporary (2021) Logitech M171 Mouse

References

External links

* * {{authority control, state=expanded 1980s initial public offerings Audio equipment manufacturers of Switzerland Companies based in Lausanne Companies based in Newark, California Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Companies listed on the Nasdaq Computer companies established in 1981 Computer peripheral companies Electronics companies established in 1981 Electronics companies of Switzerland Home automation companies Loudspeaker manufacturers Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland Swiss brands Swiss companies established in 1981 Technology companies established in 1981 Technology companies of Switzerland