The development of programmable desktop calculators, inkjet printing, and 3D graphics are credited to HP Labs researchers.

HP Labs was established on March 3, 1966, by Hewlett-Packard founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard, seeking to create an organization not bound by day-to-day business concerns.

[1] The labs have downsized dramatically; in August 2007, HP executives drastically diminished the number of projects, down from 150 to 30.

[9][10] In 1999, HP Labs and UCLA built the world's first molecular logic gate for eventual application in chemically assembled nano-computers.

[12][13] The lab invents microfluidic and imaging technologies for markets beyond office and home print, such as flexible packaging, life sciences, and sensing.