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Avigdor Willenz

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Avigdor Willenz
אביגדור וילנץ
Born1957 (1957) (age 67)
Rehovot, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
EducationTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology (Electrical Engineering)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist
Known forFounder of Galileo Technologies, Habana Labs
Board member of

Avigdor Willenz (Hebrew: אביגדור וילנץ; born in 1957, Rehovot, Israel) is an Israeli entrepreneur in the electronics field, venture capitalist, billionaire, and philanthropist.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

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Avigdor Willenz was born in 1957 in Rehovot. He studied at the High School near the university and then dropped out. After a pre-military service year in Kibbutz Raim, he served in the IDF as an officer in the Armored Corps during the First Lebanon War, as a tank platoon deputy commander in the 362nd Battalion, among other roles in the Sultan Yacoub battle. Willenz is a graduate of the Technion in Electrical Engineering.[1]

Career

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He began his professional career in the early 1980s at Elbit, where he worked on developing computer infrastructures for the Lavi and F-16 combat aircraft. In 1988, he moved to the United States for residence, during which he specialized in developing half-conductor devices, resigned from Elbit, and joined Integrated Device Technology (IDT).[4] At IDT, Willenz met Manuel Alba, who became his partner in companies he later founded. After three and a half years in the United States, he returned to Israel.[5]

In 1993, he founded Galileo Technologies, which develops VLSI components.[6][3] In 1997, Willenz took Galileo public on NASDAQ, and in October 2000, he led its sale to the American company Marvell Technology, which paid $2.7 billion for 25% of Galileo's shares.[7]

He invested in several startups, including "Liva Semiconductor", which was sold to Cisco Systems in 2016 for $320 million.[8]

In July 2011, he was listed among the founding investors in Annapurna Labs,[9] responsible for developing server chips for Amazon AWS. Annapurna Labs was sold in 2015 to the American company Amazon for about $370 million.[10]

In 2016, he was the president and the first investor in Lightbits Labs.[11] That same year, together with David Dehan and Ran Halutz, he founded Habana Labs, which develops processors for artificial intelligence applications.[12] He was also the first investor in the company and served as its chairman of the board. In December 2019, the company was sold to the American company Intel for $2 billion.[13][14] Following this deal, Forbes Israel estimated his wealth at $2.7 billion.[15]

He was philanthropists of organizations such as Breaking the Silence, B'Tselem, Adalah, and Rabbis for Human Rights. As an environmental activist, he contributed to the Society for the Protection of Nature and the Jewish National Fund, an organization dedicated to preserving open spaces in Israel.[4]

Private life

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In 2021, Willenz moved to the canton of Bern in Switzerland, where he resides with his partner.[4] His children and grandchildren live in Israel.

References

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  1. ^ a b "12 על 12: הדמויות המשפיעות בענף השבבים". tech12. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  2. ^ Feldman, Amy (2022-08-16). "With Data Centers Expanding, Semiconductor Startup Astera Labs Is On Track For $100 Million In Revenue This Year". forbes.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  3. ^ a b Aharoni, Śarah; Aharoni, Meʼir (2005). Industry & Economy in Israel. Miksam Limited. ISBN 978-965-90901-1-2.
  4. ^ a b c גלעד, אסף (2023-04-14). "מיליארדר השבבים שעזב לבקתה באלפים שובר שתיקה". Globes. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  5. ^ יבלונקו, יסמין (2019-12-18). "הכירו את היזם שמכר את הבאנה לאבס לאינטל ב-2 מיליארד דולר". Globes. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. ^ Pryce-Jones, Jessica (2011-09-20). Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-96574-9.
  7. ^ "Marvell to acquire LAN-chip supplier Galileo for $2.7 billion in stock". EE Times. 2000-10-17. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  8. ^ ציפורי, טלי (2016-03-02). "סיסקו רוכשת את ליבה סמיקונדוקטור ב-350-400 מיליון דולר במזומן". Globes. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  9. ^ לן, שלומית (2012-03-29). "נמאס לו לגדל זיתים: הסטארט-אפ החדש של אביגדור וילנץ". Globes. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  10. ^ "Amazon to buy Israeli start-up Annapurna Labs". reuters.com. 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  11. ^ בליזובסקי, אבי (2019-05-02). "לייטביטס הישראלית הציגה ב-Dell Technology World -". אנשים ומחשבים - פורטל חדשות היי-טק, מיחשוב, טלקום, טכנולוגיות (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  12. ^ "Avigdor Willenz breaks his silence". Globes. 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  13. ^ "Avigdor Willenz has done it again". Globes. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  14. ^ "Habana Labs - Israel Electronics News". Techtime News. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  15. ^ "בזכות האקזיט הרביעי: אביגדור וילנץ זינק למקום ה-66 בדירוג העשירים - פורבס ישראל". forbes.co.il. 2020-02-08. Archived from the original on 2020-02-08. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
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