A Message from the Founder
"We began with the broad idea of using the prosperity we had been blessed with to aid those less fortunate than ourselves. However, we soon saw the need for a more focused approach in our philanthropic work. Today’s world has an endless number of compelling social issues, and without a concentrated effort, our impact would be diluted. We needed a clear focus in order to get the most out of our resources.
Over time, we realized that we could maximize our social impact by addressing the needs of children and youth. By helping the younger generation, we would better the communities where they live, and thus improve the future of those communities. From this epiphany came a clear mission: to serve underprivileged children in developing nations, and in doing so, cultivate a spirit of philanthropy in the next generation. We decided to begin these efforts in East Asia, which holds special significance to us because of our family roots.
Once we had a dedicated area of focus, we recognized the need for committed and able partners, locally and abroad, to help us carry out our work in an effective and sustainable manner -- partners whose familiarity with the needs, framework and history of a region, or whose specialized and technical expertise would give our projects a larger impact in the lives of their intended beneficiaries.
The Ping and Amy Chao Family Foundation was formed in response to all of these needs. We saw the foundation as a vehicle through which we could fund and partner with projects or organizations that shared our vision. Today, we use a three-pronged strategy that combines partnership with our backgrounds in entrepreneurship and technology to help projects reach their goals in a fiscally responsible and timely way. We have adopted best practices for project management, reporting and evaluation, as well as guidelines for financial accountability to further facilitate the success of each project.
We are thankful that in these first few years, our foundation has had the opportunity to work with capable, committed partners in education, health and youth leadership development in Greater China and beyond. Through these experiences, our original idea of sharing has developed into a deep conviction to contribute not only our assets with those in need, but also our spirit of philanthropy. We hope you share in this vision and welcome you to join us as a partner, co-sponsor or volunteer. Together, we can make a greater impact than if we stand alone." - Ping & Amy Chao
Founder’s Biography
For over 25 years, Ping Chao has been a serial entrepreneur in high technology in Silicon Valley, California. He has been a technology and business leader in the Electronics Design Automation (EDA) industry since its infancy. In 1982, Ping co-founded ECAD which five years later, filed for IPO. Soon thereafter, in 1988, ECAD merged with SDA Systems to become the EDA powerhouse, Cadence. Then in 1990 He founded his second startup company PiE Design Systems with another successful IPO. Once again in 1996, he founded his third startup - Silicon Perspective Corp serving as its President and CEO.
In 2001 Silicon Perspective Corp was acquired by Cadence as one of the most successful merger & acquisition (M&A) in EDA history. From 2001-2005, Ping served as Cadence’s Executive Vice President and General Manager. Today, Cadence is the leading EDA company in the world with $ 1.615 billion in revenues (2007) over 5000 employees worldwide and a market cap of $5.36 billion. In 2005, Ping retired from Cadence to become a private venture investor and devote more time to his philanthropic work.
Ping completed his BSEE at National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan and his MSEE/CS at University of California at Berkeley.
An oral history of Ping's career can be found in the archive of Computer History Museum.
Over time, we realized that we could maximize our social impact by addressing the needs of children and youth. By helping the younger generation, we would better the communities where they live, and thus improve the future of those communities. From this epiphany came a clear mission: to serve underprivileged children in developing nations, and in doing so, cultivate a spirit of philanthropy in the next generation. We decided to begin these efforts in East Asia, which holds special significance to us because of our family roots.
Once we had a dedicated area of focus, we recognized the need for committed and able partners, locally and abroad, to help us carry out our work in an effective and sustainable manner -- partners whose familiarity with the needs, framework and history of a region, or whose specialized and technical expertise would give our projects a larger impact in the lives of their intended beneficiaries.
The Ping and Amy Chao Family Foundation was formed in response to all of these needs. We saw the foundation as a vehicle through which we could fund and partner with projects or organizations that shared our vision. Today, we use a three-pronged strategy that combines partnership with our backgrounds in entrepreneurship and technology to help projects reach their goals in a fiscally responsible and timely way. We have adopted best practices for project management, reporting and evaluation, as well as guidelines for financial accountability to further facilitate the success of each project.
We are thankful that in these first few years, our foundation has had the opportunity to work with capable, committed partners in education, health and youth leadership development in Greater China and beyond. Through these experiences, our original idea of sharing has developed into a deep conviction to contribute not only our assets with those in need, but also our spirit of philanthropy. We hope you share in this vision and welcome you to join us as a partner, co-sponsor or volunteer. Together, we can make a greater impact than if we stand alone." - Ping & Amy Chao
Founder’s Biography
For over 25 years, Ping Chao has been a serial entrepreneur in high technology in Silicon Valley, California. He has been a technology and business leader in the Electronics Design Automation (EDA) industry since its infancy. In 1982, Ping co-founded ECAD which five years later, filed for IPO. Soon thereafter, in 1988, ECAD merged with SDA Systems to become the EDA powerhouse, Cadence. Then in 1990 He founded his second startup company PiE Design Systems with another successful IPO. Once again in 1996, he founded his third startup - Silicon Perspective Corp serving as its President and CEO.
In 2001 Silicon Perspective Corp was acquired by Cadence as one of the most successful merger & acquisition (M&A) in EDA history. From 2001-2005, Ping served as Cadence’s Executive Vice President and General Manager. Today, Cadence is the leading EDA company in the world with $ 1.615 billion in revenues (2007) over 5000 employees worldwide and a market cap of $5.36 billion. In 2005, Ping retired from Cadence to become a private venture investor and devote more time to his philanthropic work.
Ping completed his BSEE at National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan and his MSEE/CS at University of California at Berkeley.
An oral history of Ping's career can be found in the archive of Computer History Museum.