Open up almost any computer manufactured since the early 1990s, and you’re likely to find at least one, and possibly several components with an integrated circuit sporting the practically ubiquitous VIA Technologies logo. Pick up nearly any Android smartphone and you’ll see the influence of HTC Corporation, which co-founded the Open Handset Alliance responsible for the development and promotion of the massively popular operating system.
What do these two technological powerhouses have in common? They were both co-founded and chaired by Cher Wang, a Taiwanese entrepreneur and philanthropist with a lifetime of knowledge and experience with the technological world. Born in 1958 in Taipei, Taiwan, she was raised from an early age with a sense of duty to the community imparted by her father, Wang Yung-ching, founder of the Formosa Plastics Group. She was given a strict upbringing and urged to study abroad, choosing the College Preparatory School in Oakland, California. She later attended the University of California, Berkeley and studied music before switching to economics, in which she ultimately earned a master’s degree in 1981.
After graduating, she started work at First International Computer, hauling full-sized computers around the train stations of Europe to demonstrate motherboard performance to customers. She dreamed of designing smaller computers that would be far more portable and easier to use. In 1987, she founded VIA Technologies, moving the company to Taipei in 1992 to build partnerships with the growing IT manufacturing base in Taiwan and China. In 1997, Wang co-founded HTC to build notebook computers and some of the first touch and wireless hand-held devices.
Both companies have seen a substantial measure of success since their founding, finding their way into computers and other devices used in countless applications all over the world. The success of both propelled the young entrepreneur to the top of the tech world, enabling her to pursue her passion for philanthropy. She has since donated tens of millions of dollars to found a school for low-income children in Southwest China, has made significant donations to her alma mater, and donated tablet PCs to schools in Taiwan.
An intensely private person, she prefers to stay out of the limelight and quietly pursue her business and philanthropic goals. She works hard to stay on top of her game at both, saying, “It takes humility to realize that we don’t know everything, not to rest on our laurels and know that we must keep learning and observing.”