[2] MKS Instruments was founded in 1961 as a provider of products and technologies used to measure, control, power, and monitor critical process parameters of advanced manufacturing processes.

[3] In 2001, the company acquired Emerson Electric's ENI Division which makes solid-state RF and DC plasma power supplies, networks and instruments.

[4][5] In April 2014, Brooks Automation entered into an agreement to sell its Granville-Phillips division to MKS Instruments.

[6][7] MKS Instruments more than doubled their addressable market by acquiring the Newport Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Ophir Optronics, for $980 million in a 2016 leveraged buyout.

[12] On February 3, 2023, MKS Instruments fell victim to a ransomware attack that among others shut down their websites for more than ten days.