A key part of success when it comes to personal finance is to diversify your portfolio so that you don’t place all of your eggs in one basket. By spreading your financial risk in different sectors and products, you lessen the blow if one of those bets doesn’t come to fruition or happens to tank. Sony, who is no stranger to having their hands in all sectors of technology (gaming, computers, televisions, home theater) and the entertainment industry (Sony Pictures, Sony Television, Sony/BMG) is now entering into another new sector: the medical field.
Over the weekend, Sony purchased Micronics, based in Redmond, Washington, for an undisclosed amount. This small US based medical research firm specializes in developing portable devices that can be used to perform tests on body fluids such as blood and saliva. With the purchase completed or near completion, Sony will be able to enter the portable medical testing market.
“Sony has sold such peripheral devices to medical device manufacturers in the past, but it will be a new business to sell directly to customers such as hospitals,” said company spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa in Tokyo.
The company currently employs 30 staff members and receives funding from from the U.S. Army and National Institutes of Health, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Sony, who is no stranger to a diversified portfolio, made a similar purchase last year when they bought iCyt Mission Technology who is known for devices that can sort cells for use in stem cell and disease research.
The only question that remains from this purchase is this: Will these companies continue to move forward with their research simply under the Sony flagship, or will we eventually see a convergence between Sony’s new medical ventures and their consumer electronics divisions? Not following me? Let me back track a bit and paint a different picture for you. Any gamer, anime buff, or film junkie will tell you that there will be a time where the medical and technological field (technology that is used by the everyday consumer) will be mixed together. If you doubt such a thing, look back to all the cool tech you saw in 80s media and chances are they they exist today and that you probably own some version of it.
It’s also no secret that, now more then ever, we are seeing technology get smaller and more convenient. Imagine a small chip placed inside of you that hosts all your information so the next time your in your car or house, the doors unlock automatically for you and the setting adjust to your needs. Heck, with devices like PlayStation Move and 3D, we are one step closer to directly interacting with the games we play. Think Sony isn’t thinking virtual reality? Think again with the Sony 3D Visor. When it coms to data storage, Nano technology has long been the holy grail of computing, allowing us to carry an infinite amount more of data then traditionally-based physical disks. And who knows, maybe the reasons why we still can’t simply speak to computers like they do in Star Trek is not the lack of sophisticated software, but the lack of human to machine connection.
While Sony already has deep ties in the technology market, it only makes sense for them to make a play into such a field. Now, it simply could be for portfolio diversification. But personally, I believe this to be a long term commitment and acknowledgement of where technology is headed.
Discuss:
Do you think I’ve seen the Matrix one too many times or do you also see the convergence of these two fields in the future?