That three-armed speakerphone that sat in the middle of every conference table for two decades? Polycom invented it. The company didn't just sell conference phones — it created the modern one, and for years "Polycom" was simply what people called the speakerphone in the room. Here's the story: who founded Polycom, what they built, and — the question most people arrive with — who owns it now.
Quick answer
Last updated July 2026
Who founded Polycom, and when?
Polycom was co-founded in December 1990 by Brian Hinman and Jeffrey Rodman, two colleagues from PictureTel Corp, an early videoconferencing company. The startup began in a San Francisco basement — Hinman put in $400,000 of his own money plus $100,000 from friends — before moving to San Jose and drawing venture funding. The goal was ambitious for the time: to build better tools for all the main ways people communicate, meaning voice, content, and video.
The SoundStation: the conference phone Polycom invented
Polycom's first product, shipped in 1992, was the SoundStation — the triangular speakerphone that became an office icon. What made it matter wasn't the shape; it was that it was genuinely good enough for a real meeting, thanks to robust full-duplex audio.
Full-duplex audio — The ability for both ends of a call to talk and be heard at the same time, without the audio clipping in and out. Before the SoundStation, speakerphones were half-duplex — only one side could speak at once — which made group calls stilted. Full-duplex is what made the conference phone usable.
Three legs held microphones that gave 360-degree pickup around the table, and the design was expandable with add-on microphones for larger rooms — ideas so effective they're still standard in conference phones today. The original was followed by the SoundStation Premier, the SoundStation 2, the wireless SoundStation 2W, and the VTX 1000, the first conference phone with HD Voice. The SoundStation was such a landmark that the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History added it to its collection.
From audio to video: the growth years
Polycom went public on NASDAQ in 1996 under the ticker PLCM, then expanded well beyond speakerphones. In 1998 it launched the ViewStation, which did for videoconferencing what the SoundStation had done for audio — it became the industry standard, and video collaboration grew into the core of the business through the 2000s. In 2001, Polycom acquired PictureTel, the very company its founders had come from, and introduced its first VoIP conference phone, the SoundStation IP 4000. Between 1998 and 2018, Polycom acquired around fifteen companies, building out a full voice, video, and content collaboration line.
Who owns Polycom now? Polycom to Poly to HP
Polycom changed hands several times in a short span, which is the source of most of the confusion.
Myth
Polycom went out of business.Reality
It didn't. Polycom was taken private by Siris Capital in 2016, then acquired by Plantronics in 2018. In 2019 the combined company rebranded as Poly — a name meant to unite Plantronics' headsets and Polycom's conference and video gear. HP then acquired Poly in 2022. So the Polycom brand name was retired, but the company, its products, and its lineage all continue today as part of HP, under the HP Poly brand. Your Polycom conference phone came from a company that's very much still operating — just under a new name.| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Polycom founded by Brian Hinman and Jeffrey Rodman |
| 1992 | First SoundStation conference phone ships |
| 1996 | Polycom goes public (NASDAQ: PLCM) |
| 2016 | Taken private by Siris Capital |
| 2018 | Acquired by Plantronics |
| 2019 | Combined company rebrands as Poly |
| 2022 | HP acquires Poly |
This is the conference-phone side of the same story we tell from the headset side in Plantronics, Poly & HP: who owns who — Plantronics and Polycom were two separate giants that merged into one company now owned by HP.
What it means for your Polycom conference phone
For anyone with a Polycom conference phone or looking to buy one, the practical takeaways are simple. Support and warranty now run through HP. The classic analog SoundStation line is legacy — it did its job for 30 years, but it relied on analog phone lines that most offices no longer use. Its modern successor is the Poly Trio series, which does the same job over SIP, USB, and Bluetooth with HD voice, plus the Poly Studio line for video.
If you're choosing a conference phone today, the decision is about room size and how you connect, not the brand name on the box — the current range lives on the conference phones collection, and our specialists can match one to your room.
Who owns Polycom now?
Polycom is owned by HP. It was taken private by Siris Capital in 2016, acquired by Plantronics in 2018, and the combined company rebranded as Poly in 2019. HP then acquired Poly in 2022. Polycom's conference and video products are now sold under the HP Poly brand.
When was Polycom founded, and by whom?
Polycom was founded in December 1990 by Brian Hinman and Jeffrey Rodman, two former engineers from PictureTel Corp. It started in a San Francisco basement and released its first product, the SoundStation conference phone, in 1992. The company went public on NASDAQ in 1996.
Is Polycom still in business?
Yes, though not under the Polycom name. The company became part of Poly in 2019 after merging with Plantronics, and Poly was acquired by HP in 2022. The Polycom brand name was retired, but its conference phones and video systems continue to be made and sold under the HP Poly brand.
What replaced the Polycom SoundStation?
The Polycom SoundStation line has been succeeded by the Poly Trio series. While the original SoundStation relied on analog phone lines, the Trio connects over SIP, USB, and Bluetooth with HD voice, suiting modern offices and softphone platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The classic SoundStation is now legacy.
Did Polycom invent the conference phone?
Polycom created the modern conference phone with its 1992 SoundStation, the triangular full-duplex speakerphone that became an office standard. Its full-duplex audio let both sides of a call speak at once, and its 360-degree microphone pickup and expandable design set the template that conference phones still follow today.
Polycom's name may have retired into HP Poly, but its fingerprints are on every conference phone made since — the three-armed SoundStation set the shape, the sound, and the expectations for the whole category. If you're replacing an old Polycom unit or outfitting a new room, start with the current conference phones range, or call our team at 877-999-3838 and we'll match one to your space.
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