In 1946, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, the predecessor of Sony)started as a small company with capital of just 190,000 yen and approximately 20 employees. Founder Masaru Ibuka said the purpose of setting up the company was to "establish an ideal factorythat stresses a spirit of freedom and open mindedness that will, through technology, contribute to Japanese culture." Symbolizing Sony's spirit of challenge to "do what has never been done before,"the company has continued to release countless "Japan's first" and "world's first" products.