Linkabit
{{Short description|American technology company}}
Linkabit Corporation was a computer networking company founded in 1968 by Irwin M. Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Leonard Kleinrock. Linkabit alumni have created a large number of technology companies, most notably, Qualcomm.
Linkabit is now a division of L3Harris Technologies and had been part of L-3 Communications, later named L3 Technologies, prior to its merger with Harris Corporation in July 2019.
Corporate history
Linkabit Corporation was formed in mid-1968 in Los Angeles by Irwin M. Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Leonard Kleinrock. Kleinrock soon left.
In the 1970s, Linkabit managed SATNET for DARPA.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Vinton G. Cerf : An Oral History |url=https://exhibits.stanford.edu/oral-history/catalog/pj259nj7501 |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Stanford Oral History Collections - Spotlight at Stanford |page=97 |language=en}}
Linkabit was sold for $25 million to M/A-COM in 1979. The Linkabit operation continued under M/A-COM for the first part of the 1980s.{{cite web |url=http://libraries.ucsd.edu/sdta/companies/m-a-com.html |title=M/A-COM Linkabit |publisher=The San Diego Technology Archive at UC San Diego |accessdate=July 30, 2018}} In November 1980, Linkabit was still doing testing for SATNET.{{cite IETF |ien=160}} VideoCipher, an analog scrambling system for television, was developed by the Linkabit works at M/A-COM in 1983. The first IETF meeting in January, 1986, was hosted by M/A-COM at its San Diego Linkabit facilities.[http://www.ietf.org/meeting/past.html], List of IETF Meetings.{{cite document |last=Gross |first=Philip |title=Proceedings of the 16-17 January 1986 DARPA Gateway Algorithms and Data Structure Task Force |date=January 1986 |publisher=MITRE Corporation |page=1 |quote=The fourth meeting of the DARPA Gateway Algorithms and Data Structures Task Force was held 16-17 January 1986 at M/A Com Government Systems in San Diego, California. }} However, Jacobs and Viterbi, who had stayed with M/A-COM following the sale, left in 1985, and by 1990 M/A-COM had sold off Linkabit piecemeal.
More than 75 direct or indirect Linkabit spinoff companies have been identified — a rate twice that of Fairchild Semiconductor, the legendary progenitor of Silicon Valley.[https://libraries.ucsd.edu/sdta/_files/bios/docs/dennis-martha-linkabit-tree.pdf], San Diego Union Tribune - Linkabit genealogy.
The best known Linkabit spinoff is Qualcomm, which was founded by Jacobs, Viterbi and five other Linkabit alumni in July 1985.
All three Linkabit founders have received National Medals for lifetime achievements.[http://sdtelecom.blogspot.com/2008/09/all-linkabit-founders-get-their.html], San Diego Telecom - National Medals for Linkabit founders.
References
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Category:Technology companies established in 1968
Category:Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
Category:Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Category:1968 establishments in California
Category:Technology companies disestablished in 1979
Category:1979 disestablishments in California
Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States
Category:Defunct computer hardware companies
Category:Defunct networking companies
Category:Networking companies of the United States
Category:Networking hardware companies