Janie Tsao

Janie Tsao (born 1953), née Wu Chien , is a Chinese American entrepreneur born in Taiwan and hardware engineer. She and her husband Victor co-founded Linksys, a consumer home networking pioneer, and sold the company to Cisco Systems for $500 million in 2003.

Early life and education Born Wu Chien (or Wu Jian), Tsao received her bachelor's degree in English literature at Tamkang University in Taiwan. There, she met her future husband and business partner, Victor Tsao.

In 1977, Tsao and her husband moved to Chicago, where they attended graduate school. Later, she worked at TRW and Carter Hawley Hale as a systems manager. Janie, then 35 years old, quit her job to start Linksys and the couple financed the company with their savings. The company's first product was a success and by 1991, it was generating enough profit to allow Victor to also quit his job and work on the company full-time. She also developed Linksys's broadband strategy, partnering with cable and telecom companies to "provide high-speed Internet sharing access via wired or wireless solutions to PC users across the country."

Personal life Tsao and her husband have two sons, Michael and Steven. Through the Tsao Family Foundation, they work with the Center for Asian American Media to produce documentaries "promoting understanding and communication."