The story
TDK was founded by Kenzo Saito in Tokyo, Japan, on 7 December 1935 to manufacture the iron-based magnetic material ferrite, which had been recently invented by Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei. In 1952 and 1957, they began to produce magnetic tape, with compact cassette tapes following in 1966. TDK manufactured an extensive portfolio of magnetic and optical media, including several formats of videotape and blank CD-R and recordable DVD discs until the recording media business was sold to Imation in 2007.
TDK produced five million ferrite cores through 1945 that were primarily used to reduce the volume and weight of radio receivers used by the Imperial Japanese military.
Operations in the United States began in 1965 with a New York City office, and European operations began in 1970 with an office in Frankfurt, West Germany.
In 1980, TDK developed a multilayering technology to create chip capacitors and inductors used in personal computers, laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices.
In 1986, TDK acquired SAE Magnetics and introduced high-density recording heads.
In the 1990s, TDK's Mass Storage Division included brushless DC spindle motors, magnetoresistance (MR) heads and thin-film heads.
Since 1997, TDK has gradually withdrawn from the production of compact cassettes. First with the MA-X and AR ("Acoustic Response"), then the AD ("Acoustic Dynamic") and SA-X line in 2001 and 2002 respectively, then the MA ("Metal Alloy") line in 2004. The SA ("Super Avilyn") and D ("Dynamic") lines were withdrawn in 2011. Industry trends see the company moving into new forms of media. In 2004, TDK was the first media manufacturer to join the companies developing BD post-DVD technology.
TDK operated a semiconductor division in California for about a decade, but divested it in 2005.
Read the full text
The company dabbled in the video game business in the late 1990s and early 2000s, by operating TDK Mediactive in the U.S. and Europe, and TDK Core in Japan.
In late 2007, Imation acquired TDK's recording media business, including flash media, optical media, magnetic tape, and accessories, for $300 million. This also included a license to use the "TDK Life on Record" brand on data storage and audio products for 25 years. In September 2015, Imation announced that it had agreed to relinquish this license and would cease selling TDK-branded products by the end of the year.
Since the 2000s, TDK has focused on the development, manufacture and sales of electronic components, HDD heads and suspension, and power supplies.
Beginning in 2005, TDK has acquired many types of electronic device manufacturers including passive component developers, sensors manufacturers and power supply companies. These areas remain TDK's focus today.
Since acquiring numerous companies and sharpening its product line focus in recent years, TDK has begun building a portfolio of varying sensors, actuators and power electronic components through these brands. These include multi-axis MEMS motion tracking devices and MEMS microphones from InvenSense, a point-of-load DC-DC converter from Faraday Semi, and MEMS-based ultrasonic Time-of-Flight sensors from Chirp Microsystems intended for consumer electronics, AR/VR, robotics, drones, IoT, automotive and industrial market segments. Other areas of TDK's recent focus include power components for mobile devices, high-stability MEMS accelerometers from Tronics,,miniaturized haptic actuators, and custom ASICs (Application Specific ICs) through its subsidiary ICsense.
In 2017, TDK and GenCell began collaborating to develop and produce an ammonia-based fuel solution.
On 29 September 2026, TDK signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiyo Yuden to explore joint development of multilayer ceramic capacitors and inductors, together with cooperation in manufacturing and procurement. The agreement initiated discussions on the scope and responsibilities of a proposed business alliance, including the possibility of a future capital alliance.
From Wikipedia’s article on TDK, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5