# Andrew Viterbi

> Andrew Viterbi is a Series D investor at Qualcomm (Bergamo) backing Wireless and Semiconductor. See 10 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Qualcomm](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/qualcomm)
- Location: Bergamo, Italy
- Total investments: 10
- Last investment: Nov 2020
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026

Andrew Viterbi is a Series D investor at Qualcomm in Bergamo focused on Wireless and Semiconductor. Communications pioneer Andrew J.Viterbi — who in 1962 earned one of the first doctorates in electrical engineering granted at the University of Southern California — has forever changed how people everywhere connect and communicate, whether from across a crowded city, between nations or from the infinite reaches of space.Born into an analogworld, this visionary thinker opened the doors to the digital age with the Viterbi Algorithm, a groundbreaking mathematical formula for eliminating signal interference. Today, the Viterbi Algorithm is used in all four international standards for digital cellular telephones, as well as in data terminals, digital satellite broadcast receivers and deep space telemetry.Dr.Viterbi’s lifelong interest in communications began as a child, when his family fled Italy for America in 1939 to escape the persecution of Jews. Long absences from family members instilled a desire to find ways of communicating across political and geographical borders.The Viterbi family first settled in New York, then Boston. He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1952, studying electronics and communications theory under such renowned scholars as Norbert Wiener, Claude Shannon, Bruno Rossi and Roberto Fano. In 1956, he met Erna Finci, married and started a family.In 1957, the Cold War was underway. In October of that year, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, and the space race was on.The new MIT grad and his family moved to California, home to defense industry giants. He went to work at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, then a center for communications and satellite control systems, which soon became part of a new National Aeronautics and Space Administration. There, he specialized in the communications technology of “spread spectrum” systems on a team that designed the telemetry equipment for the first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer 1. Faced with a challenge to process and transmit information packets from space as accurately and quickly as possible, the team confronted two problems: the satellite’s weak signal, caused by its long journey, and frequency changes created by rapid orbits.From this work, Dr.Viterbi developed the topic for his Ph.D. dissertation at USC: error correcting codes.Dr. Viterbi’s love of new ideas in information theory led him first into an academic career. In 1963, he joined the UCLA faculty, teaching courses in digital communications and information theory. However, he found that the algorithms needed to decipher convolutional codes — those used to improve the performance of radios and satellite links — were too complex and difficult to explain to students. His solution: create a brand new algorithm.At the time, only a handful of computers in the world could perform the millions of operations required by his revolutionary algorithm. A computer capable of doing the calculations rapidly would have demanded the energy of a particle accelerator. However, time would eventually catch up with his vision.Dr. Viterbi’s first internationally regarded book, Principles of Coherent Communications, appeared in 1966. A second, Principles of Digital Communications and Coding, followed in 1973. During this time, he remained dedicated to his career in the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, conducting fundamental research in digital communications theory and publishing his findings in leading journals.Visionary ideas seemed to feed his entrepreneurial appetite. In the spring of 1967, Dr.Viterbi met Irwin Jacobs at a telecommunications conference in California. Both men, and another of Dr. Viterbi’s colleagues, Leonard Kleinrock, shared an interest in forming a consulting group. With an investment of $1,500 — $500 from each man — the trio founded Linkabit. The company grew as it supplied software for government computers and performed simulations using the Viterbi Algorithm. By the 1970s, Linkabit began providing technology for defense communications satellites using very large antennas.But the sophisticated transmission systems that emerged from the Viterbi Algorithm had reached their technological limits. Large amounts of data sent from communications satellites required highly efficient integrated circuits, far more sophisticated than those available at the time. Dr. Viterbi and his Linkabit associates came up with a breakthrough computer to accomplish the task and dubbed it a “microprocessor,” even though it was made up of many chips.His renown grew as fast as the company. In 1975, Italy’s National Research Council awarded Dr. Viterbi one of its highest academic accolades, the Christopher Columbus Award.In 1980, Linkabit merged with M/A-COM of Boston, remaining a separate division. It soon produced the VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal), the foundation for private satellite communications networks. In 1985, the VSAT division was sold to Hughes. The team of Viterbi and Jacobs had a new dream: together, they founded Qualcomm Corp. to develop and manufacture satellite communications and digital wireless telephones. When its doors opened in 1985, Dr. Viterbi was respected across the globe for his innovative ideas, as well as his uncanny ability to turn scientific discoveries into profitable enterprises.In the 1990s, Dr. Viterbi again capitalized on his knowledge of spread spectrum technology. He and colleagues devised a new transmission technology for cellular phones — CDMA, for Code Division Multiple Access — which would provide simultaneous access to a multitude of users, with less interference and greater security for voice and data. According to his own calculations, the network could have a capacity 10 to 20 times greater than a traditional analog system.Dr.Viterbi traveled the country as CDMA’s champion. Soon, flagship telecommunications companies, including Pacific Telesis, Motorola and AT&T, invested in the experimental technology. By 2000, there were 50 million CDMAsupported cell phones in the world, making CDMA the dominant cell phone standard. “It was a team effort, and I’m proud of the part I played,” he said later.During this period, his enchantment with scholarship continued and Dr. Viterbi, who resided in La Jolla, continued to teach part-time at the University of California, San Diego. In 1994, he became a UCSD professor emeritus.USC honored his inventive spirit in 1986 with the USC School of Engineering’s Outstanding Alumnus Award and again in 1996 with the Graduate School’s Diamond Jubilee Alumni Award. In 2000, he joined the USC Board of Trustees. Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, invited him to become a distinguished visiting professor of electrical engineering.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wireless | 3 | 30% |
| Semiconductor | 3 | 30% |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 20% |
| DSP | 1 | 10% |
| Local | 1 | 10% |

24 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series D | 3 | 30% |
| Seed | 2 | 20% |
| Series A | 1 | 10% |
| Series B | 1 | 10% |
| Series C | 1 | 10% |

6 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 6 | 60% |
| Israel | 1 | 10% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Totum Labs | Totum enables the worldwide tracking and monitoring of billions of assets using their constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) nanosatellites. | $13M | Series A | Nov 30, 2020 |  |
| Totum Labs | Totum enables the worldwide tracking and monitoring of billions of assets using their constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) nanosatellites. | $9M | Seed | Nov 15, 2019 |  |
| Clinkle | Clinkle’s goal is to modernize the way people transact, by creating a next generation payment platform that will change the way people pay for things. Based in San Francisco, the company is planning to introduce its mobile wallet for day-to-day transactions within the next year. | $25M | Seed | Jun 27, 2013 |  |
| Provigent | Provigent Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company, provides system-on a-chip (SoC) solutions to fixed wireless networks, private wireless networks, and cellular infrastructure markets. It offers PVG610 System-on-a-chip for broadband wireless transmission systems; PVG610X System-on-a-chip for transmitting and receiving two orthogonally polarizedsignals at the same RF carrier frequency; and PVG 310, which integrates baseband functionality for point-to-point broadband wireless systems. The company also provides PVG9610 Development kit that supports the development of a system based on the Provigent PVG610 system on a chip (SoC); and PVG350MDK, a modem development kit for wireless point-to-point (PTP) systems. Provigent offers its products for applications such as cellular/WiMAX backhaul networks, fixed wireless transmission, and private wireless networks. The company was formerly known as Turbotech. Provigent, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. | $17M | Series D | Mar 07, 2007 |  |
| Provigent | Provigent Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company, provides system-on a-chip (SoC) solutions to fixed wireless networks, private wireless networks, and cellular infrastructure markets. It offers PVG610 System-on-a-chip for broadband wireless transmission systems; PVG610X System-on-a-chip for transmitting and receiving two orthogonally polarizedsignals at the same RF carrier frequency; and PVG 310, which integrates baseband functionality for point-to-point broadband wireless systems. The company also provides PVG9610 Development kit that supports the development of a system based on the Provigent PVG610 system on a chip (SoC); and PVG350MDK, a modem development kit for wireless point-to-point (PTP) systems. Provigent offers its products for applications such as cellular/WiMAX backhaul networks, fixed wireless transmission, and private wireless networks. The company was formerly known as Turbotech. Provigent, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. | $10M | Series C | Mar 23, 2005 |  |
| Vativ Technologies | Vativ Technologies, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company, focused on providing innovative, high-bandwidth, cost-effective, copper interconnect solutions for LAN, WAN, and SAN applications. Incorporating proprietary system architecture and DSP algorithms, Vativ's approach to physical layer interconnect diverges radically from typicalanalog designs used in devices today. Vativ's novel technology has resulted in several patents filed in both the U.S. and internationally.Their advanced architecture enables increased throughput while providing greater robustness and higher performance margins needed to allow the use of low-cost media interconnects. | $11M | Series B | Feb 17, 2005 |  |
| Provigent | Provigent Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company, provides system-on a-chip (SoC) solutions to fixed wireless networks, private wireless networks, and cellular infrastructure markets. It offers PVG610 System-on-a-chip for broadband wireless transmission systems; PVG610X System-on-a-chip for transmitting and receiving two orthogonally polarizedsignals at the same RF carrier frequency; and PVG 310, which integrates baseband functionality for point-to-point broadband wireless systems. The company also provides PVG9610 Development kit that supports the development of a system based on the Provigent PVG610 system on a chip (SoC); and PVG350MDK, a modem development kit for wireless point-to-point (PTP) systems. Provigent offers its products for applications such as cellular/WiMAX backhaul networks, fixed wireless transmission, and private wireless networks. The company was formerly known as Turbotech. Provigent, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. | $8M | Series C | Sep 21, 2004 |  |
| TransChip | TransChip designs advanced CMOS imagers for mobile phones and other portable devices. TransChip's core technology includes advanced image capture, color processing and image compression in a single-chip camera module. TransChip's vision is to become the leading provider of imagers for mobile phones by delivering a complete, programmablecamera solution with superior image quality.TransChip is the first company in the world to demonstrate a CMOS imager with integrated digital image signal processing and JPEG compression. A complete shrink-wrap solution results in lower product cost, simpler integration, and reduced power consumption when compared to competing multi-chip solutions.In addition, TransChip's superior image quality is achieved through the use of proprietary CMOS sensor architecture and advanced color-processing algorithms. TransChip's solution eliminates the need for the high processing power required for image capture and preview, and guarantees built-in functionality that many competing technologies and solutions cannot deliver.TransChip's innovative design has been optimized for the handset system by allowing streaming video to be fed directly from the imager to the LCD. This leads to significant reductions in the baseband MIPS budget and memory access requirements, and opens up the possibility of providing low-end and mid-range phones with true video capability.TransChip has excellent design and management teams with proven performance records. In addition, it has a board of directors which includes some of the leading industry experts, such as Mr. Ray Stata, the founder and Chairman of Analog Devices, and Prof. Andrew Viterbi, the founder of Qualcomm. | $19M | Series D | Feb 11, 2004 |  |
| Lumera | Lumera develops proprietary polymer materials and is developing products based on these materials for a broad range of applications. They design and synthesize polymer materials at the molecular level—using their expertise in nanotechnology, which is the development of products and production processes at a scale smaller than 100 nanometers (ananometer is one-billionth of a meter)—to optimize their electrical, optical and surface properties. | $24M |  | Mar 27, 2001 |  |
| PinPoint Corporation | PinPoint Corporation is a leading developer of wireless locating solutions. Its 3D-iD®Local Positioning System (LPS) solution was developed to specifically address the needs of the healthcare, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution industries where locating inventory, equipment and personnel automatically and instantly is essential. | $30M | Series D | May 23, 2000 |  |

10 of 10 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Heroic Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/heroic-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Mission Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mission-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Space Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/space-angels) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Space Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/space-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Acorn Ventures, Inc.](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acorn-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Barksdale Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/barksdale-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Qualcomm

VC Fund · San Diego, United States

Qualcomm is an American fabless semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services. It produces processors and connectivity solutions, displays, software, and charging products.The company is focused on various industries: automotive, education, healthcare, Internet ofEverything, mobile computing, networking, smart cities, smart homes, and wearables.Qualcomm’s products include Gobi, Hy-Fi, IPQ, IZat, Powerline, Snapdragon, Small Cells, VIVE, Wi-Fi platforms, Mirasol, Pixtronix, AllPlay, 2net, Brew, HealthyCircles, QChat, QLearn, RaptorQ, Vuforia, Halo, and WiPower.

5 contacts available at Qualcomm.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Andrew Viterbi | Co-Founder | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/andrew-viterbi-2 |
| Raymond Dittamore | Member of the Board of Directors | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/raymond-dittamore |
| Sudeepto Roy | VP, Engineering | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sudeepto-roy |
| Thomas Horton | Member of the Board of Directors | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/thomas-horton |
| Aine Shivnan | Vice president, Program Management | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/aine-shivnan |

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## FAQ

### What does Andrew Viterbi invest in?

Andrew Viterbi invests primarily in Wireless, Semiconductor and Manufacturing startups, most often at Series D and Seed stage. Most of the 10 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Andrew Viterbi last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Andrew Viterbi closed in Nov 2020. Shizune tracks 10 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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