Who owns Logitech?

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Founded in 1981 in the village of Lausanne, Switzerland, Logitech was originally created by three entrepreneurs, Pierluigi Zappacosta, Giacomo Marini and Daniel Borel. It gradually expanded into the United States, becoming the computer accessories powerhouse that it is today. Some of the first products Logitech released ended up becoming industry firsts, such as a wireless infrared mouse or a thumb-operated trackball. These days, if you’re looking for a keyboard, mouse, headset, or even something like a webcam, you’ll find a plethora of options under the Logitech name.

Technically, no one owns Logitech. It has no sole owner, parent company or individual majority shareholder and is publicly traded as Logitech International SA, although it has some large institutional investors. According to Logitech’s company briefing document (the link will download a PDF to your device), its manufacturing center is located in Suzhou, China, with “additional manufacturing” operations spread across other parts of the country. The company’s R&D centers are located around the world, including the United States, Ireland, Switzerland, India, China and Taiwan.

Logitech currently makes consumer and enterprise products, but it was originally consumer-focused and later adapted some of its product lines for enterprise or commercial applications. The Logitech for Business group didn’t officially launch until 2011. Of course, you may recognize it as the maker of the Logitech MX Master 4, one of the best productivity-focused mice on the market.

The very first Logitech mouse was released in 1982, and it looked strange. It looked like a half-melted snowball with three buttons plastered on the front. Called P-4, it used “opto-mechanical technology” and introduced optical encoders integrated into the rollers for innovative precision. Just two years later, Logitech designed the first wireless mouse technology using IR for the metaphor. A year later, the C7 mouse was Logitech’s first retail product. The C7 adopted a more rectangular shape, with three buttons, and more closely resembles the style of mouse common today. The rest, as they say, is history.

Interestingly, Logitech’s first gaming peripheral was a joystick released in 1994 called WingMan. This was the company’s first effort to offer a gaming-exclusive device, which is now much more common in its new products. It’s crazy to see Logitech G – its advanced gaming gear – now covering racing wheels, keyboards, mice, headsets, joysticks, handheld consoles and much more. Overall, Logitech’s product arsenal covers a huge selection of computing, entertainment, smart home, a range of security cameras, and gaming-related categories. Although Logitech stopped making universal remotes a while ago, a decision many have never forgiven them for, especially me.