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Weili Dai

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Weili Dai
Born
Weili Dai (戴伟立)

1961 or 1962 (age 62–63)[1]
Shanghai, China
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Co-founder and former president of Marvell Technology Group
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1985; died 2024)​
Children2
In this Chinese name, the family name is Dai.

Weili Dai (simplified Chinese: 戴伟立; traditional Chinese: 戴偉立; pinyin: Dài Wěilì) is a Chinese-born American businesswoman. She is the co-founder, former director and former president of Marvell Technology Group. Dai is a successful entrepreneur,[2] and the only female co-founder of a major semiconductor company.[3] In 2015, she was listed as the 95th richest woman in the world by Forbes.[1] Her estimated net worth is US$1.3 billion, as of June 2024.[4]

Early life

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Weili Dai was born in Shanghai, China, where she played semi-professional basketball before moving to the U.S at the age of 17.[1] She has a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.[5]

Career

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Dai was involved in software development and project management at Canon Research Center America, Inc. Dai co-founded the American semiconductor company Marvell in 1995 with her husband Sehat Sutardja. She directed Marvell's rise to become a large company.[6] While at Marvell, Dai worked on strategic partnerships,[7] and marketed Marvell's technology for use in products across several markets.[8][9] Dai also works to increase access to technology in the developing world[10] and served as an ambassador of opportunity between the US and China.[11] Dai served as chief operating officer, executive vice president, and general manager of the Communications Business Group at Marvell. She was corporate secretary of the board, and a director of the board at Marvell Technology Group Ltd.[12]

Dai promoted partnership with the One Laptop Per Child program (OLPC) and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.[13][14]

She sits on the board of the disaster relief organization, Give2Asia, and was named to a committee of 100 representing the Chinese Americans. The Sutardja Dai Hall at her alma mater, UC Berkeley, was named for Dai along with her husband Sehat Sutardja, CEO of Marvell and Pantas Sutardja, CTO of Marvell. Sutardja Dai Hall is home to the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). In 2015, Dai was named to the Global Semiconductor Alliance's (GSA) board of directors,[15] Dai is a member of the executive committee for TechNet.[16]

Dai co-founded the startup 'MeetKai' in 2018, which is focused on digital media technology (artificial intelligence/metaverse) and as the "Official AI Partner" of the Los Angeles Chargers.[17]

In 2021, together with her husband, she founded Silicon Box, a Singapore-based semiconductor company that focuses on the design and manufacture of chiplet packaging. The venture-backed company opened a $2 billion facility in Tampines in 2023 to produce chiplets for their customers primarily in the artificial intelligence domain.[18][19]

Awards

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Newsweek named Dai one of the "150 Women Who Shake the World."[20] She has been profiled by CNN International for the Leading Women Innovator Series.[21] In 2004, Dai was a recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.[22] On May 12, 2012, Dai became the first female commencement speaker at the UC Berkeley College of Engineering.[23] On August 22, 2012, Dai was on the Forbes list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women."[24] In October 2012, she got an award from the non-profit organization Upwardly Global.[25] In March 2013, Dai was honored with the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Established Corporation category by the Chinese Institute of Engineers/USA-San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.[26]

On May 23, 2013, Dai was No. 88 on the Forbes list of "The World's Most Powerful Women."[24] On June 12, 2013, Dai was named a 2013 Most Influential Women in Embedded.[27] On October 25, 2013, Dai was honored with the New Silk Road Award by the California-Asia Business Council.[28] On November 13, 2013, Dai was awarded the Gold Stevie Award for Woman of the Year – Technology.[29] On December 16, 2013, Marvell Co-founders Dr. Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai were honored with the 2013 Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award [30] by the Global Semiconductor Alliance.

On May 28, 2014, Dai was named to Forbes most powerful women list.[31] On September 8, 2014, Dai, was honored with a Gold award as the "Best Woman Professional of the Year" at the 2014 Golden Bridge Awards.[32] On November 17, 2014, Dai had a Stevie award in 2017.[33] In 2014, Dai got a Women World award.[34]

On May 26, 2015, Dai was named as the 95th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes,[1][35] her fourth consecutive year on Forbes list of "The World's Most Powerful Women." On August 5, 2015, Ms. Dai received a Gold recognition for "Technology Executive of the Year" from the 2015 International Best in Biz Awards.[36] In 2015, Dai was named a recipient of the "Keepers of the American Dream" by The National Immigration Forum and National Immigration Forum Action Fund.[37]

Controversies

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In 2008, the company and its then chief operating officer–and the only member of its stock option "committee" during the period in question – Weili Dai paid fines,[38] to the Securities and Exchange Commission over charges of false financial information to investors by improperly backdating stock option grants to employees, totaling $10 million and $500,000 respectively. Dai was forced to step down as executive vice president, chief operating officer, and a director but allowed to continue with the company in a non-management position.[39]

In 2016, Dai and her husband, Sehat Sutardja, were ousted from Marvell Technology Group, the company they had co-founded, after months-long investigation on a potential accounting fraud. The investigation found no fraud, however, it found that there were significant pressures from management to meet revenue targets and that internal controls were not fully followed and some revenues were booked prematurely early.[40]

Personal life

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Dai married Sehat Sutardja in 1985, and have two sons.[41][42] They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, after being dismissed from Marvell by hostile takeover.[1] Her husband died on September 18, 2024.[43]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Ousted Marvell founders invest in Las Vegas condos after moving there". Forbes. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  2. ^ Warren, Christina (21 March 2012). "Women in Tech: How One Entrepreneur Blazed a Trail". Mashable. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  3. ^ "Women! Embrace your inner geek". CNN. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012. only female co-founder of a global semiconductor company in the world.
  4. ^ "Weili Dai". Forbes.
  5. ^ "25 Notable Chinese-Americans" (PDF). Forbes. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  6. ^ Herel, Suzanne (6 June 2011). "Meet the Boss: Weili Dai, Marvell Technology Group". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  7. ^ Stone Rabinowicz, Zara. "Seven Top Ladies In Tech Over 50". Chip Chick. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  8. ^ Dishman, Lydia. "Innovation Agents: Marvell Technology Group's Weili Dai, Semiconductor Pioneer". Fast Company. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. ^ Goudreau, Jenna (13 September 2011). "With Bartz Out, Marvell's Weili Dai Pushes Women In Tech". Forbes. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  10. ^ Dignan, Larry. "Marvell co-founder talks technology in education, R&D". Smart Planet. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  11. ^ Flannery, Russ. "Marvell Technology's Mobile Connector". Forbes Asia Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Marvell – Company – Investor Relations – News Release". Investor.marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  13. ^ Phoebe Parke. "How to get girls into STEM -- The experts speak". Cnn.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  14. ^ Kucera, Danielle. "Technology Industry's Gender Gap Seen Hampering Competitiveness". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Marvell – Company – Newsroom – GSA Appoints Ms. Weili Dai, President and Co-Founder of Marvell, to GSA Board". Marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Executive Council". TechNet.org. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Weili Dai". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  18. ^ Wang, Catherine (16 February 2024). "Chipping In: Billionaire-Founded Unicorn Startup Makes Semiconductor 'Chiplets' For The AI Boom". Forbes. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024.
  19. ^ Chong, Claudia (9 January 2024). "Singapore chip start-up Silicon Box turns unicorn, hitting US$1 billion in valuation". The Straits Times.
  20. ^ "150 Women Who Shake the World". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  21. ^ "Video – Breaking News Videos from CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. 2010-07-16. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  22. ^ "Marvell Founders Receive 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  23. ^ Dai, Weili (14 May 2012). "Weili Dai's commencement address to UC students". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  24. ^ a b "Weili Dai". Forbes. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  25. ^ "Marvell Co-Founder Weili Dai Honored with Outstanding Leadership Award by Upwardly Global – Yahoo! Finance". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  26. ^ "» Chinese Institute of Engineers names Marvell co-founder Entrepreneur of the Year Asia Connect Miami". 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13.
  27. ^ "2013 Most Influential Women in Embedded: Weili Dai, Cofounder, Vice President, and General Manager of Communications and Consumer Business, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. - Embedded Computing Design". Embedded-computing.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Marvell – Company – Newsroom – Marvell President and Co-Founder, Weili Dai, Honored with New Silk Road Award by the California-Asia Business Council". Marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  29. ^ "Marvell – Company – Newsroom – Marvell President and Co-Founder Weili Dai Honored with the Gold Stevie® Award for Woman of the Year – Technology". Marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Marvell – Company – Newsroom – Marvell Co-Founders Dr. Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai Honored with the 2013 Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award by the Global Semiconductor Alliance". Marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  31. ^ Howard, Caroline. "The World's Most Powerful Women 2014". Forbes.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  32. ^ "Marvell – Company – Newsroom – Weili Dai, Marvell President and Co-Founder, Honored as Gold Winner for Best Woman Professional of the Year at the 2014 Golden Bridge Awards". Marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  33. ^ "Marvell – Company – Newsroom – Marvell President and Co-Founder Weili Dai Honored With Gold Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year". Marvell.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  34. ^ "Women in Business and the Professions World Awards". Womenworldawards.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  35. ^ "Weili Dai". Forbes.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  36. ^ "2015 International winners: Executive categories – Best in Biz Awards International". Intl.bestinbizawards.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Keepers – National Immigration Forum". Immigrationforum.org. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  38. ^ "Marvell and ex-COO pay fines over backdating charges". Siliconbeat.com. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  39. ^ Alan Rappeport (May 7, 2007). "Marvell CFO Resigns amid Options Probe: Microchip maker discloses a pre-tax charge of as much as $350 million". CFO Magazine. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  40. ^ "The shocking fall of Marvell's Weili Dai, long hailed as a role model for women in Silicon Valley". VentureBeat. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  41. ^ Herel, Suzanne (June 6, 2011). "Meet the Boss: Weili Dai, Marvell Technology Group". SFGate.
  42. ^ "Lessons in family, business success". Shanghai Daily. April 7, 2010.
  43. ^ Goss, Louis (September 18, 2024). "Marvell Technology's billionaire co-founder, Sehat Sutardja, has died". MarketWatch.
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