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Aiwa means "yes" in several varieties of Arabic.

Aiwa was founded in Japan in 1951. It experienced considerable success in the 1970s and 1980s producing audio and video equipment that was sold around the world. Aiwa had a number of electronics 'firsts' including: Japan's first cassette tape recorder, Japan's first stereo cassette deck, the first company to manufacture digital audio tape (DAT) products, the first to market a recording headphone stereo, and leading in mini systems.

During the 1990s the market for Aiwa's core products, stereo HiFi systems and analogue radios, saw considerable competition, softening prices and slack demand. Aiwa made the decision to concentrate on quality mass production.

As of October 1, 2002, Aiwa ceased to be a separate company and became a wholly owned division of Sony Corporation. Sony announced the rebranding and relaunch of Aiwa as a "youth focussed, PC-Centric" electronics brand. A new logo was presented to the world's media along with a statement of Sony's intention to invest in and "revitalize" the Aiwa brand. The direction proposed was to capitalize on the growing trend among PC-literate teenagers and young adults to use their PCs for all forms of entertainment (TV, films, music, chat).

In 2004 a range of personal MP3 players and USB-connective HiFi systems were launched, including the world's smallest and lightest Hard Disk audio device, intended to rival the Apple iPod.

Since 2004 Sony decided to discontinue Aiwa as a brand.