Press Release

ZEISS “Photonics & Optics” to be established 2024/25

ZEISS will launch a new strategic business unit, ZEISS Photonics & Optics, effective 1 October 2024. This new unit will consolidate smaller, specialized units within the ZEISS Group that offer fascinating technologies for photonics and optics to customers worldwide. The seven businesses will operate as independent units, benefiting from an environment that promotes their growth.

23 May 2024

Oberkochen, Jena / Germany | 23 May 2024 | ZEISS Group

ZEISS will establish a new strategic business unit within the ZEISS Group starting in the next fiscal year 2024/25: ZEISS Photonics & Optics will include existing businesses outside of the ZEISS segments, which have growth potential and are suitable for ZEISS ownership.

The units of the Consumer Products strategic business unit from the Consumer Markets segment will move to ZEISS Photonics & Optics, including Cinematography, Mobile Imaging, Photo, and the optics business for hunting and nature observation. Additionally, Microoptics, Spectroscopy, Planetariums, and Simulation Projection Solutions from the Shared Production Unit of the ZEISS Group will go into the new strategic business unit. With a combined annual revenue of approximately 200 million EUR and nearly 900 employees, ZEISS Photonics & Optics will have locations in Germany, Hungary, the UK, the US, India, and China.

Focus on growth and the ZEISS Brand

The units have in common their business focus on customers in specific markets and their partially extraordinary contribution to the appeal of the ZEISS Brand. ZEISS Photonics & Optics will focus on the growth of the independent units and, as a whole, will significantly contribute to further brand development. For example, more than 20 million people visit a ZEISS planetarium annually, over 15 million use ZEISS optics for mobile photography, and films produced with ZEISS lenses fascinate audiences worldwide in theaters and on streaming platforms. Micro-optical high-performance innovations like multifunctional glass from Jena, presented at the CES in Las Vegas in 2024, will have broad applications in the automotive and smart home industries.

“The establishment of ZEISS Photonics & Optics provides the appropriate environment for these smaller, specialized units with management, culture, and business supporting functions tailored to their needs,” stated Stefan Müller, CFO of the ZEISS Group and responsible for the new unit on the ZEISS Executive Board. “The goal of this new strategic business unit is to make the individual businesses thrive economically and to support the further development of the ZEISS Brand.”

André Kutz, currently Head of Strategic Corporate Development of the ZEISS Group, and Dr. Bernhard Ohnesorge, member of the Management Board of the Shared Production Unit of the ZEISS Group, will take over the leadership of ZEISS Photonics & Optics from the next fiscal year 2024/25. Both have international experience in strategic development and in building and growing new and smaller businesses with a strong focus on technology and innovation.

The restructuring of Photonics & Optics will not result in any changes for ZEISS customers regarding products, services, or contacts.

PRESS CONTACT Joachim Kuss

ZEISS Vision Care

PRESS CONTACT Sarah Hailer

Corporate Brand, Communications and Public Affairs
ZEISS Group

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling 10 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets (status: 30 September 2023).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world's leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company's significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS' technology and market leadership. ZEISS invests 15 percent of its revenue in research and development – this high level of expenditure has a long tradition at ZEISS and is also an investment in the future.

With more than 44,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in around 50 countries with more than 60 sales and service locations, 35 research and development facilities, and 35 production facilities worldwide (status: 31 March 2024). Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG.

Further information at www.zeiss.com