Sehat Sutardja
Sehat Sutardja | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 July 1961 Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Died | 18 September 2024 (aged 63) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, inventor |
| Known for | Co-founder of Marvell Technology |
Sehat Sutardja (; July 9, 1961 – September 18, 2024) was an Indonesian-born American billionaire entrepreneur and co-founder of Marvell Technology. Marvell focused on semiconductor solutions for data storage, mobile devices, and smart televisions. At the time of his passing, Forbes valued his fortune at approximately US$1.3 billion, placing him as the 2,390th wealthiest individual worldwide.
Early life
Originating from Jakarta, Indonesia, within a Chinese-Indonesian heritage, Sutardja showed an early passion for electronics, becoming a licensed radio repair technician by age 13. After completing his studies at Canisius College in Jakarta, he relocated to the United States in 1980. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University, followed by a Master’s and Doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science at University of California, Berkeley.
Career
Before founding Marvell Technology in 1995 alongside his wife Weili Dai and brother Pantas Sutardja, Sehat Sutardja gained experience working with Micro Linear Corp. and Integrated Information Technology.
He is credited with holding more than 440 patents and was recognized as an IEEE fellow. In 2004, Sutardja and his co-founders earned the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the networking and communications category. The Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association honored him as Inventor of the Year in 2006. He received the Indonesian Diaspora Lifetime Achievement Award for Global Pioneering and Innovation in 2012. His induction into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame occurred in 2013, the same year he and Dai were awarded the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award by the Global Semiconductor Alliance. Additionally, he secured the Northern California EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2004 and was designated "Executive of the Year" by the ACE Awards in 2015.
On April 4, 2016, Sutardja was dismissed from his role as CEO at Marvell. The company disclosed that although no fraudulent activity was detected, internal control weaknesses coupled with managerial pressure to meet revenue goals resulted in premature revenue recognition. The following day, Reuters reported that both Sutardja and Dai resigned from their executive positions at Marvell.
In 2021, Sutardja collaborated with Dai and business associate Byung Joon Han to establish Silicon Box, a Singapore-based semiconductor enterprise specializing in chiplet packaging design and production. In 2023, Silicon Box inaugurated a $2 billion manufacturing facility in Tampines dedicated mainly to chiplets serving clients focused on artificial intelligence technologies.
Sutardja held a board seat at Alphawave IP Group and was its second-largest shareholder. Following his death, Dai inherited his shares and temporarily joined Alphawave’s board. By June 2025, her stake was valued at $237 million when Qualcomm announced intentions to acquire Alphawave.
Causes and philanthropy
Sutardja was an advocate for advancing green energy efficiency standards within consumer electronics, working closely with governmental bodies in both the U.S. and China to define performance criteria that deliver substantial cost reductions and lower carbon emissions. In 2010, he launched the Smart Electronics Initiative—a collaborative industry effort aimed at increasing awareness about energy use in everyday electronic devices. The campaign debuted at Marvell with support from former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, focusing on decreasing dependence on traditional energy sources.
His philanthropic efforts prominently supported environmental technology advancements and education. Together with his wife, he was an early benefactor of the One Laptop per Child initiative, contributing resources that enabled over two million children across developing nations to access innovative educational tools.
In recognition of their $20 million contribution to UC Berkeley’s nano-fabrication laboratory—which hosts the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS)—the university named Sutardja Dai Hall after the Marvell founders in 2009.
Personal life and death
While attending UC Berkeley, Sutardja met Weili Dai, whom he married in 1985. Together, they had two sons. He died at the age of 63 on September 18, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
External links
- Edward Robinson, Billionaires From Jakarta, Shanghai Undermined by U.S. Options, Bloomberg.com, May 21, 2007
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1961 births
- 2024 deaths
- American people of Chinese-Indonesian descent
- Indonesian people of Chinese descent
- Indonesian emigrants to the United States
- Iowa State University alumni
- UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
- Businesspeople from Jakarta
- American businesspeople
- Businesspeople in electronics
- American billionaires
- Indonesian billionaires