Varian Associates

Varian Associates

Founded	April 20, 1948 (1948-04-20)
Fate	Split in 1999 into: Varian Medical Systems Varian, Inc. Varian Semiconductor
Headquarters	Stanford Industrial Park, Palo Alto, California, United States
Key people	Russell and Sigurd Varian
Number of employees	7,000 (1998)
Subsidiaries	Varian Data Machines (1967–1977)

Varian Associates was one of the first high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1948 by Russell H. and Sigurd F. Varian, William Webster Hansen, and Edward Ginzton to sell the klystron, the first vacuum tube which could amplify electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies, and other electromagnetic equipment. Varian Associates split into three companies in 1999: Varian Medical Systems, Varian, Inc. and Varian Semiconductor.