The group can trace its heritage back to the original Carl Zeiss AG company, founded in Jena in 1846.

Following World War II, Jena fell within the Soviet occupation zone, later to become East Germany.

In 1948, when it was apparent that the Soviet authorities were moving toward establishing a separate Communist state in their occupation territory, most of the main Zeiss company swiftly relocated to West Germany.

Lotha Späth, the former Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, became the head of Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH.

Jenoptik GmbH inherited the optoelectronics, systems engineering, photonics, mechatronics, and precision manufacturing divisions.

A significant acquisition was Meissner + Wurst GmbH Co. KG (now M+W Group) from Stuttgart in 1994, which facilitated entry into several markets, especially in Asia.

Jenoptik is regarded as one of the few companies descended from an East German state-owned enterprise to be successful in the post-Reunification era.

[2] In 2004, Concord Camera Corp. of the United States acquired a related company Jenimage Europe GmbH, and licensed the right to use the Jenoptik trademark for 20 years.

During the same year, the company decided at its Annual General Meeting to divest its Clean Systems division to focus on its more profitable optics business.

Consequently, Jenoptik sold its shares in M+W Zander Holding AG (now M+W Group) in Stuttgart to the investment firm Springwater Capital.

[5] After Jenoptik announced in July 2019 to aim for a sale of this company division to concentrate the core business with lasers, measurement technology and optical systems, Vincorion was sold to a Fund of the British financial investor Star Capital Partnership in November 2021.

[10] In November 2021, Jenoptik became a member of the United Nations Global Compact network for corporate responsibility and committed to compliance with integrating aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals into its business strategies.

"[11] In December 2021, the company released a new business strategy, Agenda 2025 'More Value,' and an organizational restructuring took effect in April 2022.

Since the 2022 restructuring, Jenoptik's primary markets are the semiconductor equipment and electronics, life science and medical technology, and traffic and security industries.

The Light & Optics division of Jenoptik serves as a development and production partner for optical and micro-optical systems, catering to information and communication technologies, security and defense technology, and application solutions for the life science industry as well as laser, automotive and lighting applications.

Key Products and Capabilities: In July 2019, Jenoptik announced its intention to sell the Vincorion division to concentrate on its core businesses in lasers, metrology, and optical systems.

[citation needed] In November 2021, Vincorion was sold to a fund managed by British financial investor Star Capital Partnership for an enterprise value of 130 million euros.

These systems serve industries including automotic, packaging, and semiconductor processing across Europe, America, and Asia.