Who owns AKG?
AKG is owned by HARMAN (the United States), which has owned the brand since 1994.[1][2]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: HARMAN Completes Sound United Acquisition to Expand Premium Audio Leadership, HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, 23 September 2025. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Stamford, Connecticut
- Origin
- 🇦🇹 Austria, Vienna
- Founded
- 1947 by Rudolf Goerike, Ernst Pless
- Category
- Home, garden & DIY › Consumer electronics › TVs & audio
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About AKG
AKG was founded in Vienna in 1947 by Rudolf Goerike and Ernst Pless, and within months its first microphones — built by hand by five workers — were being used in radio stations, theatres and jazz clubs. Its first headphones followed in 1949, and in the early fifties the D 12 and the remote-controlled multi-pattern C 12 made its name, with the BBC in London among the first buyers of the C 12. AKG became part of Harman International in 1994 and still runs its research headquarters in Vienna.
Ownership timeline of AKG
Where AKG sits in HARMAN
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full HARMAN ownership tree →
See the full HARMAN brand portfolio (10) →
Other brands owned by HARMAN
HARMAN controls 10 brands on Brandtree, 10 of them in home, garden & diy.
Also in home, garden & diy
- Arcam (1976)
- Boston Acoustics (1979)
- Bowers & Wilkins (1966)
- Classé
- Definitive Technology (1990)
- Harman Kardon (1953)
- JBL (1946)
- Mark Levinson (1972)
- Revel (1995)
Other brands in tvs & audio, and who owns them
HARMAN has more brands in tvs & audio on Brandtree than any other owner: 10 of 35.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Sonos | Sonos | 🇺🇸 United States |
| BlueParrott | GN Group | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| JVC | JVCKENWOOD | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| ASTRO Gaming | Logitech | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| PDP | Turtle Beach | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Fusion | Garmin | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| Klipsch | Gentex | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Anker soundcore | Anker Innovations | 🇨🇳 China |
About the owner: HARMAN
HARMAN is a privately held company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. Brandtree records 10 brands under its control.
HARMAN designs and engineers connected products for carmakers, consumers and enterprises: car audio and infotainment systems, loudspeakers and headphones, enterprise automation and services around the Internet of Things. It says more than 50 million cars on the road carry its audio and connected car systems, and it employs about 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia. It has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics since March 2017. On 23 September 2025 it completed the acquisition of Sound United, the former consumer audio business of Masimo Corporation, whose brands now run as a standalone unit inside HARMAN's Lifestyle division.
🇦🇹 AKG and other Austrian brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 32 brands that began in Austria. 18 of them (56%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, AKG among them.
- Pipelife — Wienerberger 🇦🇹
- Atomic — Amer Sports 🇫🇮
- Austria Mozartkugel — Manner 🇦🇹
- Austrian Airlines — Lufthansa Group 🇩🇪
- CAT'S LOVE — VAFO 🇨🇿
- Carrera — Safilo 🇮🇹
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of AKG?
The parent company of AKG is HARMAN, a privately held company headquartered in the United States.
Is AKG Austrian or American?
AKG originated in Austria in 1947, but it is owned today by HARMAN, which is headquartered in the United States. So AKG is an Austrian-origin brand under American ownership.
Since when has HARMAN owned AKG?
HARMAN has owned AKG since 1994.
Is AKG still owned by HARMAN?
Yes. As of 25 September 2026, AKG is still owned by HARMAN. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] HARMAN Completes Sound United Acquisition to Expand Premium Audio Leadership — HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, Official press release, published 23 September 2025; retrieved 25 September 2026.
- [2] AKG — history — HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, Official document; retrieved 25 September 2026.
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