Corporate, financial, and marketing history
Sonos was founded as "Rincon Audio, Inc." in August 2002[5][6] by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen and Trung Mai, with MacFarlane wanting to create a wireless service.[7][8] The company changed its name to "Sonos, Inc." in May 2004.[5]
During 2004, MacFarlane brought prototypes of the first Sonos products to several industry events, including the June 2004 "D2: All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, California and the December 2004 Digital Music Summit.[9] It was reported that in D2 Steve Jobs told MacFarlane that the Sonos controller's scroll wheel might have violated Apple patents related to the iPod.[10][11][12][13]
Sonos aimed to begin shipping its products in the fourth quarter of 2004 but missed that deadline. The company first introduced its products to the market in January 2005 and first shipped them in either January or March 2005.
In May 2005, Sonos announced that its initial product line would go on sale in the United Kingdom in the following month.[14] The company has continued to broaden its international sales, for example to Japan in 2018.[15]
In May 2012, Sonos opened the Sonos Studio in Los Angeles, a studio and art gallery in which art was exhibited along with Sonos' products for free,[16] and featured events with artists like Beck, The Lonely Island and Solange,[17] and released a video about its development.[18] The Los Angeles location was closed in 2018; a London location remains open.
In December 2013, the company was estimated to have raised $118 million in venture funding, including a $25 million round; its investors included Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Redpoint Ventures and Elevation Partners.[19] In April 2014, Google and Sonos introduced deep integration features that allowed users to play and control Google Play Music through Sonos devices.[20]
In January 2015, Sonos was rebranded by Bruce Mau Design,[21] with a new visual identity and improved logotype that was created over the span of four years, from 2011 to 2014.[22] There have been other brand refreshes, including one in 2019.[23]
In February 2016 Sonos also released a study called Music Makes it Home Study.[24]
In March 2016, CEO John MacFarlane announced the company's shift to focus on streaming music services and voice control instead of local playback, and laid off some employees.[25]
In July 2016, the company opened its first Sonos Store in SoHo.[26] Sonos announced the store's closure in June 2020.[27]
In September 2016, the company announced that its products would become available at Apple Stores.[28]
In January 2017, MacFarlane announced via the company's blog that he would be stepping down from his role as CEO, and that he would be succeeded in this position by former COO Patrick Spence.[29]
In December 2017, IKEA and Sonos announced a collaboration to build Sonos' technology into furniture sold by IKEA.[30] In May 2025, Sonos announced the partnership was ending.[31]
In August 2018, Sonos went public, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol SONO.[32]
In November 2019, Sonos acquired Snips SAS, a privacy-focused AI voice platform for connected devices with the goal to bring a music-specific assistant to its devices.[4]
In January 2020, Sonos sued Google over copyright infringement relating to several patents, including the ability to sync audio over multiple devices.[33] In August 2021, a judge ruled in favor of Sonos.[34] The International Trade Commission also ruled in favor of Sonos.[35] As a result, Google was ordered to remove certain features from its devices, including group volume control.[36]
Google was ordered to pay Sonos $32.5 million in damages.[37] However, a judge tossed out the verdict in October and criticized Sonos for abusing the patent system.[38] Following the verdict, Google redeployed the features it had previously removed.[39]
In April 2020, Sonos revealed a new "sonic logo" composed by Philip Glass, featuring an ensemble of 21 musicians. The logo will be heard in the listening experience of Sonos Radio, an Internet radio streaming service that was unveiled by the company the same month.[40]
In June 2020, Sonos announced plans to lay off 12% of its workforce, close its New York store and six of its offices, and cut its top executives' pay by 20% for three to six months, in response to the economic disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic.[41]
In November 2020, Sonos launched "Sonos Radio HD", a paid ad-free tier of Sonos Radio.[42]
In May 2023, Sonos reported a 24% drop in revenue. Sonos then laid off 7% of its workforce—130 employees—in June.[43]
In August 2024, Sonos laid off another 100 employees. Several of its customers support locations will also close, including one in Amsterdam.[44]
