NEC facts for kids
Logo since 1992
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Headquarters at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan
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Native name
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日本電気株式会社
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Romanized name
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Nippon Denki Kabushiki gaisha |
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Formerly
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Nippon Electric Company, Limited (1899-1983, in English) |
| Public KK | |
| Traded as | TYO: 6701 |
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| Founded | 17 July 1899 in Tokyo, Japan |
| Headquarters | NEC Supertower, , |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Former
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| Services | |
| Revenue | ¥2.9 trillion (2021) |
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Operating income
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¥153 billion (2021) |
| ¥161 billion (2021) | |
| Total assets | ¥3.7 trillion (2021) |
| Total equity | ¥1.5 trillion (2021) |
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Number of employees
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114,714 (2021) |
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List
NEC Platforms
NEC Fielding NEC Solution Innovators ABeam Consulting NEC Communication Systems NEC Nexsolutions NEC Facilities NEC Networks & System Integration (51.4%) Japan Aviation Electronics (50.8%) NEC Corporation of America NEC Europe NEC Asia Pacific NEC China NEC Latin America Netcracker Technology |
NEC Corporation (日本電気株式会社, Nippon Denki Kabushiki gaisha, an acronym for the Nippon Electric Company) is a big Japanese company. It works with information technology and electronics. Its main office is in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
NEC creates IT and network solutions. This includes things like cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of things (IoT). They also make telecommunications equipment and software. They sell these to businesses, phone companies, and governments. NEC has been Japan's biggest PC seller since the 1980s.
By 1990, NEC was the fourth-largest PC maker in the world. From 1985 to 1992, its semiconductor (computer chip) business was the largest in the world. NEC later spun off its chip business into other companies.
Contents
History of NEC
NEC was started by Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda on August 31, 1898. They used buildings they bought from another company. Iwadare was the main partner, and Maeda handled sales. An American company, Western Electric, was also interested in the Japanese phone market.
On July 17, 1899, NEC became the first Japanese company to have foreign money invested in it. Iwadare became the managing director. The company started by making, selling, and fixing telephones and switches. NEC built a new factory in 1901 to make things more modern.
In 1903, the Japanese government started using a new type of phone system from NEC. This system made phones easier to use. NEC also began selling telephone sets to China in 1904. Iwadare visited Western Electric in the U.S. to learn about their ways of working. When he came back, he made changes to make NEC more efficient.
Between 1899 and 1907, the number of phone users in Japan grew a lot. NEC also started selling products in Korea and China. This helped NEC grow even more.
In 1913, the government delayed plans to expand phone service. This caused NEC's sales to drop. To help, Iwadare started importing new things like electric fans and kitchen appliances. Electric fans had never been seen in Japan before! In 1916, the government started the phone expansion plan again. This helped NEC grow even when other Japanese companies were struggling.
Growing with Technology (1919-1938)
In 1919, NEC started working with Sumitomo Group to make cables. This helped NEC get new technology for making cables.
The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake hit Japan in 1923. Many people died, and NEC's factories were destroyed. Phone and telegraph services were also broken. Because of this, the government decided to install new automatic phone systems and start radio broadcasting. NEC helped install these new systems.
NEC also started its radio business in 1924. Japan's first radio station, Radio Tokyo, began broadcasting in 1925. NEC imported the equipment for this. NEC also started making special electron tubes in 1925. By 1930, they were making their own radio transmitters.
In 1928, NEC developed equipment to send photos over telegraph lines. This was used to send pictures of Emperor Hirohito's ceremony. NEC's system was faster and had better picture quality than others.
World War II and Recovery (1938-1980)
World War II was a very hard time for NEC. Many of its factories were put under military control. In 1941, NEC's connections with American companies were cut off. By 1945, many of NEC's factories were heavily damaged by bombings. This greatly reduced what NEC could produce.
After the war, NEC slowly started making things for people again. NEC began researching transistors in 1950. In 1952, NEC won an award for its excellent quality control. They started working on computers in 1954.
NEC made the first crossbar switching system in Japan in 1956. This was important for phone networks. In 1958, NEC made its first fully transistorized computer, the NEAC-2201. All its parts were made in Japan.
In the 1960s, NEC started to expand around the world. They opened offices in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia. NEC also helped lay submarine cables across the Pacific Ocean for communications. In 1971, NEC provided satellite communication systems. In 1977, Japan launched a weather satellite made by NEC, called Himawari.
During this time, NEC came up with the idea of "C&C," which means combining computers and communications. This was a big step for the company.
Modern Growth (1980-2000)
In 1980, NEC created the first digital signal processor, a special chip for handling digital signals. NEC also started making VLSI (very complex) chips in the UK.
NEC released its first personal computers, the PC-8800 series, in 1981. They quickly became the top PC seller in Japan. In 1983, NEC changed its English name to NEC Corporation.
In 1986, NEC delivered its SX-2 supercomputer to a research center in Texas. NEC also started making VCRs, printers, and mobile phones in the UK.
NEC also got into the video game world. They worked with Hudson Soft to create the PC-Engine game console in 1987 (called TurboGrafx-16 in North America). While this console was popular, NEC's biggest impact on gaming came from making computer chips for other game systems.
In 1990, NEC's new main office building, the "Super Tower," was finished in Tokyo. NEC also started making digital phone systems and chips in China.
NEC was the number one personal computer seller in Japan in the 1980s. But in the 1990s, other companies started to compete more. NEC bought the American company Packard Bell in 1995 to make desktop PCs for North America.
NEC also made another game console called the PC-FX in Japan. They stopped making video game consoles in 1998. However, NEC continued to supply important chips for other game consoles. These included the Virtual Boy and Nintendo 64 for Nintendo, the Dreamcast for Sega, and the WonderSwan for Bandai.
In 1999, NEC celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Recent Times (2000-Present)
In 2000, NEC partnered with Samsung SDI to make OLED displays. NEC also helped provide projectors to schools in the UK.
In 2002, NEC's chip business became a separate company called NEC Electronics. NEC also built the Earth Simulator Computer (ESC), which was the fastest supercomputer in the world from 2002 to 2004.
In 2004, NEC stopped making displays and sold its plasma display business. In 2007, NEC and Nissan started a joint company to make lithium ion batteries for hybrid and electric cars. This company is called Automotive Energy Supply Corporation.
In 2010, NEC Electronics merged with another company to form Renesas Electronics. This made them one of the largest chip companies. In 2011, NEC formed a joint company with the Chinese PC maker Lenovo. This helped both companies grow.
In 2012, NEC had to cut jobs because of economic problems and slow sales of smartphones. In 2013, NEC was the biggest PC server maker in Japan. In 2014, NEC was hired to build a super-fast undersea data cable connecting the United States and Japan. NEC stopped making smartphones in 2015.
In 2018, NEC started a new company called NEC X in Silicon Valley. This company helps new businesses develop products using NEC's technology. NEC also bought KMD, a large IT company in Denmark, to help with digital government services.
In 2019, NEC sold its lighting business. As of 2019, NEC is the largest supplier of AI (artificial intelligence) surveillance technology in the world.
In 2020, NEC sold most of its display business to Sharp Corporation. NEC also started to focus more on its 5G network business. NTT, Japan's largest phone company, invested in NEC to help with this. In December 2020, NEC bought Avaloq, a company that makes digital banking solutions.
What NEC Does Today
As of 2018, NEC has several main business areas. These include Public services, Enterprise solutions, Network Services, System Platforms, and Global operations.
Some of NEC's main companies around the world include:
- NEC Corporation of America
- Netcracker Technology
- NEC Europe
- KMD
- Avaloq
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The European headquarters of Renesas Electronics Europe in Düsseldorf, Germany (formerly NEC Electronics (Europe))
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Japan Ground Self-Defense Force J/TPS-102 self-propelled ground-based early warning 3D radar
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NEC's Kobe system center
Products NEC Makes
NEC makes many different products, including:
- NEC MobilePro – a small computer you can hold, running Windows CE
- Hybrid phone systems for small businesses
- Electric vehicle batteries (with Nissan)
- Mobile phones
- Monitors and Fax machines
- Digital cinema projectors
- Laptop PCs (like the MultiSpeed and Versa series)
- Desktop PCs (like the POWERMATE series)
- Car stereos and keyless entry systems
Game Consoles
- PC Engine (called TurboGrafx-16 in the US) and its related systems. NEC made these with Hudson Soft.
- PC-Engine GT (TurboExpress in the US)
- PC-Engine Duo (TurboDuo in the US)
- PC-FX
Personal Computers
- PC-6000 series
- PC-6600 series
- PC-8000 series
- PC-8800 series
- PC-9800 series
Microprocessors (Computer Chips)
- NEC V20
- NEC V25
Defense Products
NEC also makes products for defense, such as:
- J/TPS-102 – a self-propelled radar system for early warnings
- Broadband multipurpose radio system
- Advanced Combat Infantry Equipment System [ACIES] – for soldiers
- Howa rifle system – parts for rifles
Supercomputers
NEC has made many powerful supercomputers over the years:
- 1983: Announced the SX-1 and SX-2 supercomputers.
- 2002: Installed the Earth Simulator, which was the fastest supercomputer in the world from 2002 to 2004. It could do 35,600 billion calculations per second!
- 2017: Announced the NEC SX-Aurora TSUBASA, a computing platform for supercomputing, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data.
Cool Achievements
NEC has made many important discoveries and inventions:
- The discovery of single-walled carbon nanotubes by Sumio Iijima. These are tiny, strong materials.
- The invention of a widely used method for testing computer chips.
- The world's first test of a one-qubit rotation gate in solid devices. This is important for quantum computing.
- For mobile phones, NEC was a pioneer in things like color screens, 3G support, and cameras in phones.
- Developed a facial recognition system that can tell faces apart even when people are wearing masks.
- Released the first home video game system to use compact discs. This was a big step for interactive entertainment.
Sponsorships
NEC has sponsored many sports events and teams:
- NEC was the main sponsor of the Davis Cup tennis competition until 2002.
- NEC sponsored the NEC Cup and NEC Shun-Ei, which are Go tournaments in Japan.
- NEC sponsored the English football club Everton from 1985 to 1995.
- NEC sponsored the Sauber F1 Team from 2011 to 2014.
- They also sponsored the Sahara Force India F1 Team and Racing Point in Formula 1.
- In 2013, NEC became a sponsor for PGA Tour Latinoamérica, a professional golf tour.
Sports Teams
NEC also has its own sports teams:
- NEC Red Rockets (women's volleyball)
- NEC Green Rockets (men's rugby union)
NEC used to own the Montedio Yamagata football (soccer) team, but now they just sponsor them.
A team that is no longer active:
- NEC Blue Rockets (men's volleyball)
See also
In Spanish: NEC Corporation para niños
- List of computer system manufacturers
- TurboGrafx-16
