Young Sohn
{{Short description|American businessman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Young Sohn
| image = Web Summit 2018 - Centre Stage, Day 1 -November 6 SD5 7230 (31880474128) (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 170px
| caption = Sohn at the 2018 Web Summit
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Seoul, South Korea
| nationality = American
| alma_mater = University of Pennsylvania
MIT Sloan School of Management
| known_for = Former President of Samsung Electronics
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
| module = {{Infobox Korean name|child=yes
| hangul = 손영권
| hanja =
| rr = Son Yeonggwon
| mr = Son Yŏngkwŏn}}
| networth =
}}
Young Sohn ({{korean|hangul=손영권}}) is an American tech executive, entrepreneur, and venture investor focused on deep tech, AI, robotics, and next-gen computing. He is a founding managing partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures,{{Cite web |url=https://waldencatalyst.com/people/young-sohn |title=Young Sohn | Walden Catalyst }} an early-stage venture capital firm investing globally in deep tech across AI, semiconductors and robotics. Sohn is also the Chairman of HARMAN International,{{Cite web |url=https://www.harman.com/board-of-directors |title=Board of Directors | HARMAN }} and serves on the board of Cadence Design Systems and ARM.{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.arm.com/news/appointment-of-young-sohn-to-arm-board-of-directors |title=Arm Announces Appointment of Young Sohn to its Board of Directors }}
He was formerly President and Chief Strategy Officer of Samsung Electronics,{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelpremack/2017/12/07/samsung-electronics-eyes-autos-to-continue-reaping-record-profits/ |title=Why Samsung Thinks The Key To Its Future (And Profits) Could Be In The Auto Sector |last=Premack |first=Rachel |website=Forbes |language=en |access-date=2019-02-01}}{{cite web|url=https://www.harman.com/board-of-directors/young-sohn|title=Young Sohn|website=Harman|access-date=May 26, 2023}} where he led the company’s strategic push into automotive, AI, cloud and infrastructure. Sohn was instrumental in Samsung’s $8B acquisition of HARMAN, and launched the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center.{{Cite web |url=https://fr.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKKBN1390OJ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095345/https://fr.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKKBN1390OJ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |title=Samsung to buy car tech company Harman for $8 billion |date=2016-11-15 |website=Reuters |language=fr |access-date=2019-02-01}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-samsung-elec-idUSKCN1BP0JP |title=Samsung enters autonomous driving race with new business, funding |date=2017-09-14 |website=Reuters |language=en |access-date=2019-02-01}}
He has been called "the best-connected chip executive in the semiconductor industry."{{Cite web |url=https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1266349 |title=London Calling: The best-connected chip executive |last=Clarke |first=Peter |website=EETimes |access-date=2019-02-01}}
Early life and education
Sohn was born in Seoul and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. Sohn holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. from MIT Sloan School of Management.{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucerogers/2014/09/03/helping-a-korean-electronics-giant-stay-nimble/ |title=Helping a Korean Electronics Giant Stay Nimble |last=Rogers |first=Bruce |website=Forbes |language=en |access-date=2019-02-01}}
Operator, Builder & Scaler
Sohn began his career at Intel, where he launched the PC chipset business and brokered Intel’s first JV with Samsung. He also formed the company's inaugural joint venture with Samsung Electronics.{{Cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/508306/why-samsungs-man-in-silicon-valley-uses-apple-devices/ |title=Why Samsung's Man in Silicon Valley Uses Apple Devices |last=Leber |first=Jessica |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en |access-date=2019-02-01}} He held the President role at Quantum Corporation, Agilent Semiconductor (now Broadcom) and Oak Technology, where he led strategic pivots and successful exits. As CEO of Inphi Corporation, Sohn guided the company to a successful IPO in 2010, cementing its role in high-speed data infrastructure.{{Cite web |url=https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1160887 |title=Young Sohn joins venture capital startup |last=Clarke |first=Peter |website=EETimes |access-date=2019-02-01}}
He also served as senior advisor at Silver Lake Partners.
Sohn joined Intel as a product marketing manager and later became its director of new business development. As director of new business development, Sohn oversaw the creation of Intel's PC chipset business. He also formed the company's inaugural joint venture with Samsung Electronics.{{Cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/508306/why-samsungs-man-in-silicon-valley-uses-apple-devices/ |title=Why Samsung's Man in Silicon Valley Uses Apple Devices |last=Leber |first=Jessica |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en |access-date=2019-02-01}} Sohn was Vice President of Marketing, and later, Co-President of Quantum Corporation. He was also appointed president of the company's Storage Group.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass-high-tech/2006/01/personnel-file-2006-01-23.html |title=Personnel File |website=www.bizjournals.com |access-date=2019-02-01}} Sohn was a chairman and chief executive officer at Oak Technology, a digital media semiconductor company. During his time with the company, he oversaw the acquisition by Zoran Corporation.{{Cite web |url=https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1160887 |title=Young Sohn joins venture capital startup |last=Clarke |first=Peter |website=EETimes |access-date=2019-02-01}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1257896 |title=Inphi IPO raises $81.6 million |last=Clarke |first=Peter |website=EETimes |access-date=2019-02-01}}
Samsung: Scaling Innovation Across Sectors
Joining Samsung Electronics in 2012, Young Sohn became the company’s President and led global corporate strategy. He founded the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC), where he launched major initiatives across frontier technologies, including
the Samsung Catalyst Fund, with investments across cloud and data infrastructure, biotech, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, sensors, networking & 5G.{{Cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/inside-samsungs-innovation-center-the-israel-hub-hothousing-the-next-big-thing-in-tech/ |title=Inside Samsung's innovation center: The Israel hub hothousing the next big thing in tech |last=Lilien |first=Niv |date=2015-03-05 |website=Zdnet |language=en |access-date=2019-02-05}}
Philanthropy & Global Tech Ecosystem Leadership
Sohn co-founded the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), the world’s largest startup competition aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Jeff|date=16 July 2020|title=Extreme Tech Challenge Looked for Tomorrow's Startup Stars, Says Samsung President|url=https://cheddar.com/media/extreme-tech-challenge-looked-for-tomorrows-startup-stars-says-samsung-president|access-date=2020-07-28|website=Cheddar|language=en}}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni
Category:MIT Sloan School of Management alumni
Category:American people of Korean descent