Sony is betting on a move into virtual reality to boost its businesses beyond games as it wrestles with a sharp slowdown in sales of image sensors used in Apple’s iPhones.
The recovery at the Japanese electronics and entertainment group has accelerated to a point where Kazuo Hirai, its chief executive, is now paid a record-breaking $5m, topping the previous company record marked by his predecessor Sir Howard Stringer.
Having mostly stemmed losses at its television and other consumer electronics businesses, Sony revealed on Wednesday that it was investing in artificial intelligence technology and developing a robot that can bond emotionally with humans.