Roku streaming and smart home devices

Roku is a pioneering American brand in the digital media space, founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood in San Jose, California. The name 'Roku' is derived from the Japanese word for 'six,' representing the sixth company founded by Wood. Originally focused on high-definition video players, the brand gained massive recognition in 2008 when it launched the first Netflix-enabled set-top box. Since then, it has evolved into a dominant streaming ecosystem, producing its own hardware and licensing its proprietary operating system (Roku OS) to global television manufacturers.

While Roku's hardware designs and software engineering are conducted at its headquarters in the United States, manufacturing is primarily outsourced to facilities in China and other Asian electronics hubs like Taiwan and India. In addition to its own branded Roku Select, Plus, and Pro Series TVs, the company partners with various Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as TCL, Hisense, and Vestel to integrate its platform into third-party television sets.

Today, Roku, Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq (ROKU). Under the continued leadership of founder and CEO Anthony Wood, the brand has expanded beyond hardware into a digital media powerhouse. This includes its ad-supported streaming platform, The Roku Channel, and recent acquisitions like Frndly TV (in 2025) to further solidify its position as a leading global technology and advertising company in the 2026 landscape.