It was named for David Sarnoff, the longtime leader of RCA and NBC, and had headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, though with a Princeton address.

That facility, later Sarnoff Corporation headquarters, was the site of several historic developments, including color television, CMOS integrated circuit technology and electron microscopy.

In January 2011, Sarnoff Corporation was integrated into its parent company, SRI International, and continues to engage in similar research and development activities at the Princeton, New Jersey facility.

To date, two historic technology developments among many that took place at RCA Laboratories have been recognized by the IEEE History Center Milestone Program.

Thomson SA, the French company, acquired RCA's consumer electronics division with manufacturing activities in Indianapolis, IN and Lancaster, PA.

In the regional community, interest was expressed in establishing an east-coast "Silicon Valley", in which the Princeton, NJ David Sarnoff Research Center could play a role.

A late-1950s antitrust consent decree had required RCA to provide low-cost licenses for consumer electronics technology, largely television-related, to domestic U.S. competitors.

Ultimately, in 1986, GE accepted an SRI International proposal that it acquire the David Sarnoff Research Center by donation, along with sufficient operating funds to maintain the activity for several years.