Keysight
American technology company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keysight Technologies, Inc. is a global company headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA, that manufactures hardware and software for engineering workflows across design, test, and emulation. It serves industries including communications (5G/6G/NTN), aerospace and defense, AI/data center networking, automotive, semiconductors, digital healthcare, quantum computing, and energy.[4][5]
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Industry |
| Predecessors | Electronic test and measurement division of HP and later Agilent Technologies |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Santa Rosa, California, U.S.[1] |
Key people | Ron Nersesian (chairman) Satish Dhanasekaran (president and CEO)[2] |
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  US$5.38 billion (2025) |
| US$876 million (2025) | |
| US$850 million (2025) | |
| Total assets | US$11.3 billion (2025) |
| Total equity | US$5.88 billion (2025) |
Number of employees | 16,800 (2025) |
| Divisions |
|
| Website | keysight |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of October 31, 2025[update].[3] | |
The company was formed as a spin-off of Agilent Technologies, which inherited and rebranded the test and measurement product lines developed and produced, from the late 1930s to the turn of the millennium, by Hewlett-Packard.[6] Its name is a portmanteau of key and insight.[2][7]
Since 2022, Satish Dhanasekaran has served as Keysight's CEO and president.[8] Additional C-level executives include Neil Dougherty (CFO), Jason Kary (President, Electronic Industrial Solutions Group), and Kailash Narayanan (President, Communications Solutions Group).[9]
Through expansions and acquisitions, the S&P 500-indexed company has grown beyond its initial focus on oscilloscopes to produce electronic design automation (EDA) software, network visibility and cybersecurity solutions, manufacturing technology, and system-level simulation platforms.[10] It also works closely with more than 35 international engineering standards bodies to develop new standards and ensure accurate tests.[11]
Products
Keysight's products include hardware and software for benchtop, modular, and field instruments.[12] Instruments include oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analyzers, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers, atomic force microscopes (AFM), automated optical inspection, automated X-ray inspection (5DX), in-circuit testers, power supplies, tunable lasers, optical power meters, wavelength-meters, electro-optic converters, optical modulation analyzers and handheld tools.[13] In addition, it produces electronic design automation (EDA) software (PathWave Design division).[14] It mainly serves the telecommunications, aerospace/defense, industrial, computer, and semiconductor industries.[15]
History
Acquisitions
In the same year of its spin-off from Agilent (2014), Keysight expanded its multi-vendor calibration offerings by finalizing the acquisition of Primary Standards North America.[16] Keysight acquired British electronic measurement instrument maker Anite in 2015 for £388 million ($607 million).[17] It also purchased U.K.-based calibration company Electroservices Enterprises the same year.[18] In 2016, it acquired Signadyne, a quantum-focused modular measuring equipment company incubated by the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences).[19]
In 2017, Keysight acquired data technology company Ixia, including its network security solution BreakingPoint, for about $US1.6 billion in cash.[20][21][22] It acquired Scienlab electronic systems GmbH, including its China division, in 2017 for $62 million.[23] Expanding its calibrations services even further, the company acquired Liberty Calibration in 2017 and Melbourne-based Thales Calibration Services in 2018.[24][25][26] Additionally, Keysight acquired Prisma Telecom Testing Srl in 2019 for $90 million.[27]
The company acquired British software testing company Eggplant Software from The Carlyle Group for $330 million in 2020.[28] In March of that year, it also acquired quantum computing instrument control and lab automation software company, Labber.[29]
From 2019 to 2021, the company focused on 5G, introducing advanced products such as the Infiniium UXR-Series oscilloscopes. It acquired California-based Scalable Network Technologies in 2021 to expand its software and digital twin capabilities.[30] The same year, Keysight also acquired Sanjole, a Hawaiian technology firm focused on testing wireless data networks, German EV charging test company Verisco GmbH, as well as quantum computing testing company Quantum Benchmark.[31][32][33]
Keysight invested in quantum, high-speed digital/6G, and software-defined vehicle tech, respectively, in 2022 with acquisitions of QuaMotion, Micram Microelectronic GmbH, and NORDSYS.[34][35][36]
In 2023, the company acquired France-based ESI Group for approximately $1 billion, as well as Cliosoft, Inc., data property management platform, for $85 million.[37][38]
Keysight outbid Viavi Solutions in 2024 to acquire British telecommunications testing company Spirent for $1.5 billion.[39] That June, the US Department of Justice required the company to divest three of Spirent's businesses prior to closing the sale, due to antitrust concerns.[40] The sale closed October 15, 2025, including the regulatory required spin-off of three divisions.[41][42]
Keysight acquired multiple other companies in 2024, including AnaPico, a Swiss RF and microwave test and measurement company, for $117 million.[43] It also acquired Riscure, automated device and semiconductor security company, for $78 million, and Easics, a Belgian ASIC chip design services company.[44][45]
Keysight acquired Synopsis Optical Solutions, an optical design and analysis software platform, from Synopsis, Inc., and PowerArtist, an RTL (Register-transfer level) power consumption analysis tool, from Ansys, Inc., in 2025. The Synopsis Optical Solutions acquisition expanded Keysight's capabilities in imaging systems design, illumination design, and automotive lighting design, plus virtual prototyping and electromagnetic photonic and optoelectronic simulation. PowerArtist expanded Keysight's role in semiconductor design with early-stage power analysis.[46]
Controversies
On August 3, 2021, Keysight entered into a consent agreement with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Department of State ("DTCC") to resolve alleged violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). On May 3, 2024, Keysight submitted a letter to the DTCC certifying that it had implemented all aspects of the consent agreement and that the company's compliance program was adequate to identify, prevent, detect, correct, and report violations of the ITAR.[47][48][49]
In its 2024 Corporate Social Responsibility Progress Report, Keysight claimed successful completion of the consent agreement and the formal closure of the matter with the DTCC.[50] It continues to provide ITAR data handling support for its customers with EDA (electronic design automation) support agreements.[51]
Research and development
From its launch in 2014 until 2020, Keysight increased its investment in R&D from approximately 12% to 16%, a percentage increase that represented almost a doubling of the investment in absolute dollars.[52] In 2025, Keysight's research and development expenses reached $1.007B, a 9.58% increase over the previous year ($919M in 2024). Keysight's research and development budget has consistently increased annually since its 2014 spin-off from Agilent Technologies.[53] Its current focus is on enabling technologies, system design, simulation, and measurement, with R&D distributed throughout the US, Singapore, India, Germany, Malaysia, Romania, China, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, and France.[54]
In 2024, Keysight collaborated with Google Quantum AI to introduce the industry's first quantum circuit simulation with flux quantization, representing a breakthrough in quantum computing and superconducting circuit design.[55] This was followed in 2025 by Keysight's delivery of a quantum control system to the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan capable of supporting over 1,000 qubits, as part of the organizations’ ongoing quantum research.[56]
Keysight focuses R&D efforts on AI data center infrastructure and networking technologies, including a 2025 survey report conducted by Heavy Reading on the infrastructure challenges facing AI advancements.[57] Keysight collaborated with McGill University, Ciena, and Hyperlight on the industry's first demonstration of 448G PAM4 driverless optical transmission in 2025, which was also demonstrated at the European Exhibition on Optical Communications (ECOC) [link] and through collaboration with NTT Innovative Devices and Lumentum at an Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC) demonstration the same year.[58][59][60]
Recognition
Keysight won the 2014 Global Frost & Sullivan award for market leadership with $300 million in instrumentation software revenue, with its R&D investment of 12% of revenue ($365 million in 2013) cited as an important factor.[61][62][non-primary source needed]
Keysight was ranked No. 46th on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list in 2022.[63]
In 2023, Keysight was recognized by Forbes as #5 of America's Best Midsize Employers and #123 of America's Most Cybersecure Companies.[64][65] In 2024, it ranked Keysight #8 of America's Best Employers for Diversity.[66]
Keysight won the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Award in 2024 for New Product Innovation, Keysight Network Packet Brokers, and in 2025 for Global 6G Test and Measurement Company of the Year, Excellence in 6G Test and Measurement.[67][68]
Time ranked the company #127th of 500 on its Worlds Most Sustainable Companies of 2025 list.[69]
Keysight was named 2025 winner of the Excellence in Omnichannel Customer Experience Optimization Award by TSIA (Technology & Services Industry Association).[70]
Forbes named Keysight #599 on its list of World's Best Employers 2025 and #188 on its list of the World's Most Trusted Companies in America 2026.[71][72]
Keysight was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for AI-Augmented Software Testing Tools for its Eggplant software including automated test design, real-time visual validation, and trusted deployment (Iron Bank Certification) capabilities.[73]
Newsweek in 2026 named Keysight #13 of America's Most Responsible Companies and awarded it 4.5 out of 5 stars on its list of America's Greenest Companies.[74][75]