Who was Avtar Saini, Indian genius, who helped design popular Pentium processor, worked in US firm as...

Several Indians have a great career in IT sector. They have worked with top IT companies in the world such as Google and Microsoft. They have also worked on important projects for the companies and carved out a niche for themselves. One such was Avtar Saini, former Intel India head. He is the man behind Intel's popular Pentium processor. He joined Intel in April 1982 as a Product Engineer. He worked with the company for 22 years in various roles. Saini was recognised for his contributions to Intel’s 386 and 486 microprocessors.

A resident of Chembur in Mumbai, he was promoted to co-lead the Pentium processor design team where he managed the design and its ramp into volume production in 1989. Saini was a vice president at Intel India from 1982 to 2004. Saini left the US company in 2004. Avtar had a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from VJTI, Mumbai. He also earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, US.

The 68-year-old was killed on Wednesday morning after a speeding car rammed his cycle in Navi Mumbai. He was riding his bicycle along with other cyclists. He is survived by his son and daughter who live in the US. Saini lived alone after his wife died three years ago. Saini moved to Bangalore as the director of Intel South Asia in 1999 and contributed to the establishment of Intel’s India Development Centre. His work on 64-bit processors culminated in the joint development of the Itanium chip across India and the US, earning him five US patents.

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