Qualcomm Inc. co-founder Andrew Viterbi was inducted into Connect’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame during a recent luncheon at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa.
Viterbi, 79, split his career between business and academia. He created the Viterbi algorithm, which is used in most digital mobile phones and digital satellite receivers, as well as in such diverse fields as magnetic recording, voice recognition and DNA sequence analysis.
He is the 13th person to be inducted into the Connect Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. Irwin Jacobs, another Qualcomm co-founder, was the first to receive the award in 2005.
La Jolla-based Connect offers a variety of services to startups and entrepreneurs. The organization estimates it has helped in the development of more than 3,000 companies since its founding in 1985.
Viterbi, of Rancho Santa Fe, ranks 15th on the San Diego’s Wealthiest list, which appears in the March 23 issue of the San Diego Business Journal.
