Sehat Sutardja, the influential chip industry pioneer and co-founder of Marvell Technology, has passed away at the age of 63, according to a statement from a company where he served on the board.
Born and raised in Jakarta, Sutardja, along with his brother Pantas Sutardja and his wife Weili Dai, founded Marvell Technology in 1995. Under their leadership, Marvell grew to become one of the world’s largest chipmakers.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Alphawave Semi—the London-listed chipmaker Sutardja joined in 2019—announced his death. The company also revealed that Sutardja’s wife would assume his role as interim executive director. “Dr. Sutardja was a pioneer in the modern semiconductor industry and a significant supporter of Alphawave Semi. His loss will be deeply felt across his extensive portfolio of technology ventures and philanthropic efforts,” stated Alphawave Semi.
Forbes last estimated Sutardja’s net worth at $1.3 billion. His passing comes after he left Marvell Technology in 2016, having been cleared of fraud allegations against the company he led for two decades. He later founded the Singapore-based chipmaker Silicon Box in 2021.
Sutardja, born to Chinese parents in Indonesia in 1961, developed an early interest in electronics and moved to the U.S. in 1980 to pursue an undergraduate degree at the University of San Francisco. He later transferred to Iowa State University after discovering that San Francisco did not offer an electrical engineering program.
Together with his wife and brother, Sutardja named their startup Marvell, inspired by their vision to achieve remarkable innovations and following the naming conventions of successful chipmakers like Intel and Nortel.
Marvell Technology quickly emerged as a major player in the chip industry, benefiting from the rapid growth of the internet. The company went public on Nasdaq in June 2000.
