Nagra is a legendary Swiss audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1951 by Stefan Kudelski, a gifted 22-year-old Polish emigré engineer who invented the world's first portable audio recorder while studying at EPFL in Lausanne. The company name derives from the Polish word meaning 'will record,' reflecting Kudelski's heritage and vision. Nagra revolutionized professional audio recording with innovations like the Nagra III (1957), which became the de facto standard for motion picture and television production from the 1960s to 1990s, earning Stefan Kudelski four Academy Awards for technical achievement. Based in Romanel-sur-Lausanne near Lake Geneva, Nagra expanded into high-end audiophile equipment in 1997, surprising the audio world with premium components that echoed their iconic recorder styling. Now operated by Audio Technology Switzerland S.A. (acquired by the Kudelski family in 2012), Nagra continues its 70+ year legacy of Swiss precision engineering, producing professional recording equipment and high-fidelity audio systems distributed across 30+ countries worldwide, maintaining its reputation as the reference in sound quality and reliability since revolutionizing portable audio recording.