The Innovation Index: For more than 75 years, we’ve been turning “what-if” into reality.
Founded in 1946 by Stanford University as the Stanford Research Institute, and independent since 1970, we’ve created technologies, services, and ideas that have had a meaningful impact on every one of our lives throughout our history. In 1987, we acquired Sarnoff Corp. (formerly RCA Labs), and in 2023, we received as a donation the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) — two iconic organizations with extraordinary legacies of their own.
Take a moment to explore our rich timeline of innovation, and see some of the many ways we’ve built a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future.