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Pantas And Ting Sutardja Foundation

Annual Giving
$2.4M
Grant Range
$470K - $1.5M

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $2,447,081 (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not applicable (invitation only)
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: $472,000 - $1,505,000
  • Geographic Focus: California (primarily), New York (secondary)
  • Assets: $43,688,870 (2024)

Contact Details

The foundation does not have a public website or listed contact information. The foundation is registered in Foster City, CA.

Note: This foundation does not accept unsolicited applications.

Overview

The Pantas and Ting Sutardja Foundation was established in 2014 as a private family foundation led by Pantas Sutardja and Ting Chuk, both UC Berkeley alumni (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences). Pantas co-founded Marvell Technology Group in 1995 with his brother Sehat, building it into a global semiconductor leader before founding LatticeWork. With assets of approximately $44 million, the foundation distributed $2.4 million in grants in 2024, strongly prioritizing educational institutions and medical organizations. The foundation operates on a trustee-discretion model, making grants exclusively to preselected charitable organizations with which the founders have personal connections. Both directors work on a voluntary basis without compensation.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation does not operate formal grant programs. All funding decisions are made at the discretion of the trustees based on their personal interests and relationships.

Recent Grant Recipients (2024):

  • UC Berkeley Foundation: $1,505,000 (largest grant)
  • Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health: $470,000
  • Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund: Amount not disclosed

Median Grant Amount: $850,000

Priority Areas

Education:

  • Higher education, particularly UC Berkeley College of Engineering
  • Entrepreneurship and technology education
  • STEM education initiatives
  • Research institutions (CITRIS - Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society)
  • Public libraries (Berkeley Public Library Foundation)

Healthcare:

  • Children's health (Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health)
  • Medical research, particularly cardiovascular research
  • Pediatric care facilities

Geographic Focus:

  • Primary: California (Berkeley, Palo Alto, Foster City, Saratoga)
  • Secondary: New York
  • Strong preference for Bay Area institutions

What They Don't Fund

The foundation explicitly states it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Based on grant history, they do not appear to fund:

  • Organizations outside California and New York
  • General operating support for unknown organizations
  • Individual scholarships or fellowships
  • Arts and culture organizations
  • Environmental causes
  • International programs
  • Religious organizations
  • Political causes

Governance and Leadership

Board of Directors:

  • Pantas Sutardja - President and Director (no compensation)
  • Ting Chuk - Director (no compensation)

About Pantas Sutardja: Pantas Sutardja earned his B.S. (1983), M.S. (1985), and Ph.D. (1988) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley. After working at IBM Almaden Research Center where he developed the first CMOS read channel chip, he co-founded Marvell Technology Group in 1995 with his brother Sehat and sister-in-law Weili Dai. He served as Chief Technology Officer and Board Director for 19 years, holding over 300 U.S. patents related to semiconductor and storage system technologies. He now serves as CEO of LatticeWork, a privacy-focused technology company based in San Jose.

About Ting Chuk: Ting Chuk earned her B.S. (1985) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley. She worked as a design engineer at Rockwell and Xerox before focusing on philanthropy and serving on the advisory board of the UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology.

Key Quote from Pantas Sutardja: "We heard about the CET program and were so curious to learn more about it that we sat in on one of their classes. We were very impressed with the enthusiasm of all the students and their ability to articulate and present their projects."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process.

The foundation explicitly states that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds." All grants are made at the discretion of the trustees, Pantas Sutardja and Ting Chuk, based on their personal interests, relationships, and institutional connections.

Grants are typically awarded to:

  • Institutions where the founders have personal connections (UC Berkeley)
  • Organizations where they serve in advisory or trustee roles
  • Causes aligned with their professional background in technology and engineering
  • Medical institutions they have personal ties to

Getting on Their Radar

UC Berkeley Connection: The most significant pathway to this foundation's support is through UC Berkeley, particularly the College of Engineering and the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET). Both Pantas Sutardja and Ting Chuk serve on the advisory board of SCET and have deep institutional ties to Berkeley. Organizations or initiatives affiliated with UC Berkeley, especially those focused on entrepreneurship, technology innovation, or STEM education, are the primary beneficiaries.

Board and Advisory Positions: The Sutardjas were elected as UC Berkeley Foundation Trustees (2019-20), providing direct access to university leadership and funding priorities. Initiatives that align with the university's strategic priorities in engineering and entrepreneurship are more likely to come to their attention through these formal channels.

Technology and Innovation Sector: Given Pantas Sutardja's background as co-founder of Marvell Technology and current CEO of LatticeWork, organizations operating at the intersection of technology commercialization, semiconductor innovation, or privacy technology may attract interest if they have connections to Berkeley's technology ecosystem.

Decision Timeline

Decision timelines are not publicly disclosed. As a small family foundation with only two trustees, decisions appear to be made throughout the year based on trustee discretion rather than fixed grant cycles.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept unsolicited applications.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept applications.

Application Success Factors

Note: Since this foundation does not accept unsolicited applications, the following insights are based on their documented giving patterns and the founders' stated priorities:

Institutional Connection to UC Berkeley: The overwhelming majority of funding goes to UC Berkeley-affiliated programs. The foundation's largest grant in 2024 ($1.5 million) went to the UC Berkeley Foundation. Organizations with formal partnerships or affiliations with UC Berkeley, particularly the College of Engineering, are the primary beneficiaries.

Alignment with Entrepreneurship and Technology: Pantas Sutardja has explicitly stated his interest in supporting risk-taking graduate students and technology commercialization. He emphasizes "the necessity of encouraging graduate students to take risks and the importance of open source in the growth of the tech world." Programs that help students bridge academic research and real-world technology applications align with this vision.

Focus on STEM Education: Both founders are electrical engineers who have built their careers in technology. Their philanthropic giving reflects this background, with a clear preference for STEM education initiatives, particularly those that engage graduate students in deeper technology development.

Medical Research with Personal Connection: The foundation supports Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, including specific grants for cardiovascular research projects. Recent support included funding for mapping the human heart cell by cell to advance understanding of congenital heart disease.

Long-term Institutional Relationships: Rather than making one-off grants, the foundation appears to support the same institutions repeatedly. This suggests they value sustained relationships with organizations where they can see impact over time and maintain personal engagement.

Quotes from Pantas Sutardja on What Matters:

  • "The one thing that you cannot do is give up" - persistence and resilience
  • "It's all about being in the market, understanding the needs of other people, and working very hard"
  • "If you are passionate enough and you don't give up, and if you are persistent, you will find a niche"
  • On education: "It's also important to engage graduate students, because after all, they are the ones that invest a lot more in deeper technology"

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No Public Application Process: This foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. All grants are made to preselected organizations based on trustee discretion and personal relationships.

  • UC Berkeley is the Gateway: With the largest grants consistently going to UC Berkeley and related entities, the most viable path to this foundation's support is through formal affiliation or partnership with UC Berkeley, particularly the College of Engineering or SCET.

  • Focus is Deeply Personal: Both trustees are UC Berkeley EECS graduates who built careers in semiconductor technology. Their giving reflects their personal journey, values, and professional expertise rather than broad philanthropic priorities.

  • Graduate Student Focus: Pantas Sutardja has specifically emphasized the importance of supporting graduate students who invest in "deeper technology" rather than just undergraduate social networking projects.

  • Quality Over Quantity: With only 2-3 grants per year but a median grant size of $850,000, this is a high-dollar, low-volume funder that makes significant multi-year commitments to a small number of trusted institutions.

  • Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization: Programs that help students move from research to commercialization, embrace risk-taking, and understand entrepreneurial processes are aligned with the founders' stated interests.

  • No Point in Cold Outreach: Given the explicit statement that they don't accept unsolicited requests, organizations without existing connections to UC Berkeley or the founders should not attempt to solicit this foundation.

References

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