Marvell Technology, a US-based chip manufacturer, recently issued a statement expressing sorrow over the passing of Dr. Sehat Sutardja, one of its co-founders.
Sehat Sutardja was born in 1961 into a Chinese-Indonesian family and showed an early interest in electronics, becoming a certified radio repair technician at the age of 63.
In 1980, Sutardja moved to the US, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University, followed by a Master's and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. It was during his time at UC Berkeley that he met his wife, Weili Dai.
In 1995, Sutardja, along with his wife Dai and his brother Pantas Sutardja, co-founded Marvell Technology, headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The name "Marvell" was chosen to create awe-inspiring devices. Their first product was a fully silicon-based read channel for hard drives, designed to reduce power consumption and production costs while improving performance, successfully disrupting traditional technology.
After stepping down as CEO of Marvell in April 2016, Sutardja went on to found Silicon Box, an advanced semiconductor packaging company specializing in integration technology and manufacturing processes, in Singapore in 2021, continuing his work in the semiconductor industry.
Marvell, in its tribute, described Sehat Sutardja as a visionary leader, a brilliant engineer, and a cherished colleague and mentor to many. The company expressed deep gratitude for the foundation he built and noted that his contributions and legacy would remain forever embedded in the history of Marvell.
As an inventor and co-inventor, Sehat Sutardja held over 440 patents throughout his life. He was recognized as Inventor of the Year by the Silicon Valley IP Law Association and was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He also received the Indonesian Diaspora Lifetime Achievement Award, frequently delivering speeches at prominent events, such as the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, and discussing the future of semiconductor design and computing.
