Bose QuietComfort Headphones

Bose is a flagship American audio equipment brand, famously founded by Dr. Amar Bose in 1964. The headphones shown are part of the acclaimed QuietComfort series, which pioneered active noise-cancelling technology for the consumer market.

While the company research and development remains heavily centered in Framingham, Massachusetts, manufacturing has shifted over several decades to a global scale. Today, most Bose consumer electronics are assembled in China, with additional high-output facilities located in Mexico and Malaysia.

Bose remains a privately held corporation. Unlike many of its competitors who have been acquired by larger tech conglomerates, Bose is unique because it is majority-owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Bose donated the majority of the company's non-voting shares to MIT in 2011 to sustain the institute's research and education mission, ensuring the brand remains focused on long-term innovation rather than short-term public dividends.