CO-FOUNDER/CTO , MOVADI
WHY: Holds more than 900 patents to his name. A wireless industry pioneer for smartphones, and now one of the driving forces behind a revolution in 5G wireless equipment.
IN THE NEWS: In 2020, was awarded an Ellis Island Medal of Honor and a Business Journal Innovator of the Year Award.
NOTABLE: Maryam Rofougaran, his sister, is Movandi CEO. Company had raised $110M in financing as of August. Siblings cofounded Innovent Systems in late 1998, and built the world’s first CMOS Bluetooth transceiver, an important milestone in wireless communications. Innovent was acquired by Broadcom in 2000 for what reports said was about $450M in stock.
