Agilent Technologies - History Center and Archives

Agilent Technologies, a spin-off of Hewlett-Packard Company, broke records on Nov. 18, 1999 as the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Silicon Valley history. The US $2.1 billion raised from that IPO was a sharp contrast to the $538 in working capital that founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard began with in 1938. From a small garage in Palo Alto, California, to employees around the world serving customers in 110 countries, Agilent has a long history of innovation and leadership in the communications, electronics, semiconductor, test and measurement, life sciences and chemical analysis industries.