SiliconBeat

Three founders of Santa Clara semiconductor company Marvell have made researchers and administrators at U.C. Berkeley very happy.

Sehat Sutardja, Weili Dai and Pantas Sutardja have donated a total of more than $20 million of their own money to help complete the new headquarters for the university’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society.

Combining the skills of more than 300 researchers, the institute is designed to help industry develop innovative technology to solve social problems.

The three founders contributed equal sums. But at the university’s request,  Marvell officials declined to disclose the precise amount of the gift.

Sehat Sutardja is Marvell’s chairman and CEO, Dai is vice president of sales for communications and consumer business, and Pantas Sutardja is chief technology officer.

Three years ago, Cadence Design Systems broke ground on the first structure to be built under the so-called North San Jose Vision 2030 Plan, which envisions 26.7 million square feet of new development on the city’s north side.

Now the five-story, 208,000 square-foot R & D building has been completed on the company’s campus at 2655 Seely Avenue. And executives at Cadence - whose products helps other companies make computer chips - are talking it up big time.

Designed to house employees previously located at four nearby buildings, the new building already is “resulting in many productive brainstorming sessions that spark innovation,” Cadence declared in a prepared statement.

That’s a good thing, because Cadence - like a lot of companies in the semiconductor industry these days - could use a little innovating, particularly on the financial front. It’s just reported fourth-quarter earnings weren’t pretty. It lost $1.64 billion. During the same period a year ago, it earned $120 million.

It’s Cadence Design Systems, the San Jose-based company, whose software and hardware helps other companies make computer chips. It just broke ground for a new five-story, 208,000 square foot research and development center on its campus