Coherent Corp. traces its roots back to 1971 as II VI Incorporated, founded by Carl Johnson and James Hawkey, named after the two groups of the periodic table that inspired its initial work in cadmium telluride optics. This followed the earlier establishment of Coherent, Inc. in 1966 by James Hobart and others, which introduced the first commercial CO₂ laser built in a garage setting. Over the decades, Coherent, Inc. grew through innovation and acquisitions—such as Lambda Physik, Raydiance, and Rofin Sinar—becoming a leader in industrial, scientific, and medical laser applications.
Today, Coherent Corp. is a global powerhouse in photonics, specializing in materials, lasers, optics, and optical networking for industrial, electronics, instrumentation, aerospace, and communications markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, and operating in over 20 countries, the company manufactures everything from compound semiconductor lasers to optical transceivers and high precision laser systems used in manufacturing, medical diagnostics, and semiconductor processing.
Coherent is well-known for pioneering ultrafast and precision laser systems, including femtosecond lasers and UV laser processing setups for MicroLED display manufacturing and medical device welding “Center of Excellence” consolidates ultrafast laser production, enabling improved speed and reliability in industrial and scientific applications. Moreover, its manufacturing plants—like the Ipoh, Malaysia transceiver facility—have shipped hundreds of millions of units, underlining its scale and supply chain resilience.
Looking ahead, Coherent is investing heavily in growth areas such as AI datacenter optics, optical circuit switching, and silicon photonics networking, collaborating with partners like NVIDIA The company recently outlined a long term growth strategy focused on optical transceivers and high growth end markets—including AI datacenters and advanced communications—while optimizing its R&D investments toward the most impactful technologies. Additionally, Coherent is expanding its global innovation footprint with centers of excellence, such as the facility in Chennai, India, designed to accelerate its product development pipeline .