As Sony Corp continues its efforts to reinvent itself as a maker of niche components and innovative new products, the firm has announced the launch of a crowdfunding platform that will enable investors to get in on the ground floor of product creation driven by Sony’s own employees.
First Flight was announced July 1 with two products already in its lineup. The announcement of First Flight came right on the heels of Sony’s announcement to raise an estimated $4 billion through new shares and bonds in hopes of bolstering its foray into the image sensor industry.
The company is pulling back a bit from consumer goods, such as televisions, that have logged losses and is working to remodel itself as a component maker, analysts say.
The share issue is a first for Sony in 26 years. The plan is to better position the company to produce image sensors, one of the major high-tech components used in smartphones and cameras.
This component has fast become one of Sony’s highest earning lines along with its PlayStation video game consoles, enabling the company to rebound from losses experienced in smartphone and television sales.
What First Flight Does for Sony
First Flight is a combination crowdfunding and e-commerce platform designed to bring the ideas generated by Sony’s Seed Acceleration Program to market. The seed acceleration effort kicked off last year as way to fast-track new product ideas pitched by Sony employees, enabling them to become full-fledged businesses.
The First Flight initiative, Sony explains in its announcement, was launched to enable startups and their customers to share ideas and inspiration while working together to bring ideas to fruition.
The site launched with two main products already in place and a promise for more. The rollout ideas are an e-paper smartwatch and a device called “Mesh” tag that can transform devices into connected products.
First Flight has a four-point vision:
- Creating a combination crowdfunding/e-commerce platform
- Enabling previews of new business ideas while they’re being planned phase
- Facilitating conversation with customers as a product is developed using market introduction
- Serving as a connection between early users and upcoming projects
The intent is to give birth to new products while providing a way to determine the true needs of the market, Sony explains.
Reinvention in Progress
The move into niche products seems to be paying off well for Sony. The demand for its image sensors has become so strong, Reuters quoted an executive as saying the company is struggling to keep up.
The anticipation is that sales in this arena will grow by nearly a quarter to an estimated 550 billion yen in the year that ends in March.
Pushing into new territory dovetails well with Sony’s own startup history, Kazuo Hirai, president and CEO, said. In introducing First Flight, he said:
“Sony’s innovation is ingrained in the company’s founding spirit of ‘doing what has never been done before.’ Nothing embodies this spirit more than passionate entrepreneurs who give shape to their ground-breaking ideas and introduce them to the world, without fear of failure. The First Flight platform and other Seed Acceleration Program initiatives accelerate and optimize this process.”
As of its launch, First Flight was only available in Japanese. How soon it will roll out access for speakers and readers of other languages is unclear.
