KLA was established in 1997 following the merger of KLA Instruments and Tencor Instruments.
KLA was named after founders Ken Levy and Bob Anderson. The Tencor name owes its origins to founder Karel Urbanek, who wanted a two-syllable name that was easy to remember.
KLA was founded in 1975. Tencor was founded in 1977. KLA provided automated inspection and patterned wafer inspection, while Tencor focused on yield management including step-height measurement.
