Faysal Sohail
Encyclopedia
Faysal A. Sohail is an American
venture capitalist and General Partner at CMEA Capital
in San Francisco. Sohail was a co-founder of Silicon Architects and on the founding team of Actel
Corporation, two influential companies in the computer chip industry. Sohail serves as Chair of the Board of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation
.
to Rashid Sohail and Anjam Sohail. He attended high school both in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. including The Miller School of Albemarle
in Virginia. Sohail attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his Bachelor of Science
degree in Computer Engineering
in 1985 and was a James Scholar.
He also took graduate classes at Stanford University
and consulted for Professor Abbas El Gamal at Stanford.
(IC) design engineering and marketing at LSI Corporation
and Actel Corporation During Sohail’s tenure, Actel developed breakthrough technology in the form of field-programmable gate array
(FPGA) semiconductor chips. FPGA technology enabled creation of electronic products at a low cost, and to be reconfigured in the field when needed as opposed to sending them to a manufacturer for fabrication. Development of this technology revolutionized the chip market and created a worldwide $3 billion industry. In 1990 Sohail co-founded Silicon Architects, a company that pioneered the complex Structured ASIC (application-specific integrated circuits) Methodology called Cell-Based Array (CBA). The ASIC architecture was considered the new design technology of choice to develop very complex ASICs for cutting-edge applications such as multimedia, graphics and telecommunications.
Silicon Architects was one of the first Silicon intellectual property
companies. They designed the fundamentals of computer chips, creating a platform on which companies could build chips with higher performance that used lower power, and then licensed the technology.
Synopsys Inc. acquired Silicon Architects in 1995. Sohail worked for Synopsys as Senior Vice President of the Intellectual Property group and then as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy.
In 1999 Sohail became CEO of Cadabra Design Automation and oversaw its acquisition by Numerical Technologies
where he served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations. Cadabra Design Automation is known for providing automated transistor layout (ATL) tools to enable the manufacturing of newer, smaller chips, dramatically increasing their functionality, density and productivity.
high technology companies, including Flextronics
, Magma
, Maxygen
, Monogram Biosciences
, Silicon Spice, Symyx, and Syrrx.
While at CMEA, Sohail helped raise and deploy over $400 million while managing over $1 billion in assets. CMEA led investment in Applied Wave Research
(AWR), a software company that develops microwave/RF design tools for high speed systems and Integrated Circuits; and A123 Systems, the largest IPO in the U.S. in 2009. A123 Systems developed groundbreaking battery technology that enabled safer, higher power batteries for use in electric cars, and is one of the leading lithium-ion battery manufacturing companies in the world.
Sohail served on the College of Engineering Advisory Board (CEAB) at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He also sits on the Board of AWR Corporation, AirTight Networks, Danotek Motions Technologies, Evolution Robotics
, and MultiGiG, Inc., Solaria
, IndoUS Venture Partners, and previously served on the Board of Directors of Alien Technology
.
school districts.
Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
to Moscow
to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
to encourage entrepreneurial investments and share his thoughts and experience in financing innovation.
Sohail was chosen as one of 11 delegates for the U.S. Department of State’s Global Entrepreneurship Program
, created to promote entrepreneurship around the world. The delegation was focused on growing entrepreneurship and building relationships in the Middle East
/North Africa
, particularly in Egypt
.
On June 15th, 2011, the US Jakarta-Indonesia Embassy issued a press release naming Sohail as one of 13 members of an Entrepreneurship Delegation set to visit Indonesia July 19-24 of 2011. According to the press release, "The Entrepreneurship Delegation will enhance U.S. and Indonesian efforts to promote entrepreneurship and strengthen business ties...”
Sohail is also a Charter Member of OPEN in Silicon Valley, an organization committed to promoting entrepreneurship and business leadership in the Pakistani-American community.
, chairman and CEO of Cisco
.
with his wife Shazia Sohail and four children Sikander, Sabrina, Zaineb and Dania.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
venture capitalist and General Partner at CMEA Capital
CMEA Capital
CMEA Capital is a venture capital firm located in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded by Tom Baruch with New Enterprises Associates in 1989 as a $40M fund entitled “Chemical and Materials Enterprise Associates”. CMEA’s early focus was on investing in startup enterprises that...
in San Francisco. Sohail was a co-founder of Silicon Architects and on the founding team of Actel
Actel
Actel Corporation is a manufacturer of nonvolatile, low-power FPGAs, mixed-signal FPGAs, and programmable logic solutions...
Corporation, two influential companies in the computer chip industry. Sohail serves as Chair of the Board of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation
Silicon Valley Education Foundation
Silicon Valley Education Foundation , a non-profit organization, has been serving students and teachers since 1999. SVEF is located in San Jose, California, USA...
.
Early life and education
Sohail was born in Al Khobar, Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
to Rashid Sohail and Anjam Sohail. He attended high school both in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. including The Miller School of Albemarle
The Miller School of Albemarle
The Miller School of Albemarle is a coeducational day and boarding college preparatory school outside Charlottesville, Virginia for students in grades 8 - PG. It first opened its doors in 1878 with 33 students. One of the nation's oldest coeducational boarding schools, girls first enrolled in...
in Virginia. Sohail attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Computer Engineering
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
in 1985 and was a James Scholar.
He also took graduate classes at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and consulted for Professor Abbas El Gamal at Stanford.
Early career
Sohail spent his early career working in integrated circuitIntegrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
(IC) design engineering and marketing at LSI Corporation
LSI Corporation
LSI Corporation is an electronics company based in Milpitas, California that designs semiconductors and software that accelerate storage and networking in datacenters and mobile networks.-History:...
and Actel Corporation During Sohail’s tenure, Actel developed breakthrough technology in the form of field-programmable gate array
Field-programmable gate array
A field-programmable gate array is an integrated circuit designed to be configured by the customer or designer after manufacturing—hence "field-programmable"...
(FPGA) semiconductor chips. FPGA technology enabled creation of electronic products at a low cost, and to be reconfigured in the field when needed as opposed to sending them to a manufacturer for fabrication. Development of this technology revolutionized the chip market and created a worldwide $3 billion industry. In 1990 Sohail co-founded Silicon Architects, a company that pioneered the complex Structured ASIC (application-specific integrated circuits) Methodology called Cell-Based Array (CBA). The ASIC architecture was considered the new design technology of choice to develop very complex ASICs for cutting-edge applications such as multimedia, graphics and telecommunications.
Silicon Architects was one of the first Silicon intellectual property
Silicon intellectual property
Silicon Intellectual Property is a business model for a semiconductor company where the company licenses its technology to a customer as intellectual property. This is a type of fabless semiconductor company which doesn't provide physical chips to its customers but merely facilitates the...
companies. They designed the fundamentals of computer chips, creating a platform on which companies could build chips with higher performance that used lower power, and then licensed the technology.
Synopsys Inc. acquired Silicon Architects in 1995. Sohail worked for Synopsys as Senior Vice President of the Intellectual Property group and then as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy.
In 1999 Sohail became CEO of Cadabra Design Automation and oversaw its acquisition by Numerical Technologies
Numerical Technologies
Numerical Technologies, Inc. was a San Jose, California, USA based EDA public company.The company is primarily known for its IP portfolio, software tools and services covering alternating Phase Shift Mask Technology providing sub-wavelength design to manufacturing solutions...
where he served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations. Cadabra Design Automation is known for providing automated transistor layout (ATL) tools to enable the manufacturing of newer, smaller chips, dramatically increasing their functionality, density and productivity.
CMEA Capital
Sohail joined CMEA Capital as Managing Director in 2002. CMEA is a venture capital firm focused on life sciences, high technology, and energy & materials investments. Founded in 1989, CMEA has been an early stage investor in many Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
high technology companies, including Flextronics
Flextronics
Flextronics International Ltd. is an electronics manufacturing services provider that offers services to original equipment manufacturers . It also provides supporting supply chain services, including packaging and transportation throughout the world, as well as design and after-sales...
, Magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
, Maxygen
Maxygen
Maxygen Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing improved versions of protein drugs using DNA shuffling and other protein modification technologies...
, Monogram Biosciences
Monogram Biosciences
Monogram Biosciences Inc. , a wholly owned subsidiary of LabCorp, is an international biotechnology laboratory located in South San Francisco, California, USA...
, Silicon Spice, Symyx, and Syrrx.
While at CMEA, Sohail helped raise and deploy over $400 million while managing over $1 billion in assets. CMEA led investment in Applied Wave Research
Applied Wave Research
AWR Corporation is an electronic design automation software company, founded by Dr. Joseph E. Pekarek, with Ted A. Miracco and Dr. Stephen A. Maas. The company, formerly known as Applied Wave Research, Inc., is a National Instruments company...
(AWR), a software company that develops microwave/RF design tools for high speed systems and Integrated Circuits; and A123 Systems, the largest IPO in the U.S. in 2009. A123 Systems developed groundbreaking battery technology that enabled safer, higher power batteries for use in electric cars, and is one of the leading lithium-ion battery manufacturing companies in the world.
Sohail served on the College of Engineering Advisory Board (CEAB) at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He also sits on the Board of AWR Corporation, AirTight Networks, Danotek Motions Technologies, Evolution Robotics
Evolution robotics
Evolution Robotics is an American company specializing in robotics technologies from Pasadena, California. The product range covers computer vision, localization and autonomous navigation....
, and MultiGiG, Inc., Solaria
Solaria
Solaria was a fictional human-inhabited planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robot series.It was the last of fifty Spacer worlds colonized by humans in a first wave of interstellar settlement. Occupied from approximately 4270 AD by inhabitants of the neighboring world Nexon originally for summer...
, IndoUS Venture Partners, and previously served on the Board of Directors of Alien Technology
Alien Technology
Alien Technology is a manufacturer of RFID technology. The company is headquartered in Morgan Hill, California, with a RFID tag manufacturing facility in Fargo, North Dakota, the Alien RFID Solutions Center, in the Dayton, Ohio area, and sales offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. As of...
.
Education
Sohail is Chairman of the Board of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that joins business and community leaders to improve public education in Silicon Valley and increase the number of college-bound and prepared students in the area. The Foundation focuses on advancing student performance in math and science in Santa ClaraSanta Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
school districts.
Global Entrepreneurship
In 2010, Sohail accompanied then CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
to encourage entrepreneurial investments and share his thoughts and experience in financing innovation.
Sohail was chosen as one of 11 delegates for the U.S. Department of State’s Global Entrepreneurship Program
Global Entrepreneurship Program
The Global Entrepreneurship Program is a new U.S. Government program focused on supporting and empowering entrepreneurs in Muslim communities around the world – and beyond. It will do this by marshalling partners, both U.S. and in-country, as well as multiple U.S...
, created to promote entrepreneurship around the world. The delegation was focused on growing entrepreneurship and building relationships in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
/North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, particularly in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
On June 15th, 2011, the US Jakarta-Indonesia Embassy issued a press release naming Sohail as one of 13 members of an Entrepreneurship Delegation set to visit Indonesia July 19-24 of 2011. According to the press release, "The Entrepreneurship Delegation will enhance U.S. and Indonesian efforts to promote entrepreneurship and strengthen business ties...”
Sohail is also a Charter Member of OPEN in Silicon Valley, an organization committed to promoting entrepreneurship and business leadership in the Pakistani-American community.
Recognition
Sohail was named the 2011 Pioneer Business Leader by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. This award is given to business leaders who have contributed to the improvement of education in the Silicon Valley. Previous awardees include John ChambersJohn Chambers
John Chambers may refer to:* John Chambers , British landscape, seascape and portrait painter* John Chambers , last Abbot of Peterborough Abbey and, after the Dissolution, the first Bishop of Peterborough* John B...
, chairman and CEO of Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
.
Personal life
Sohail lives in Hillsborough, CaliforniaHillsborough, California
Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000...
with his wife Shazia Sohail and four children Sikander, Sabrina, Zaineb and Dania.
External links
- http://www.cmea.com/
- http://www.svefoundation.org/svefoundation/
- http://www.opensiliconvalley.org/