InterDigital Names Samir Ferdi as 2026 Inventor of the Year
Wireless innovator and standards leader recognized for advancing secure, intelligent connectivity
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDCC), a wireless, video and AI technology research and development company, today announced that Samir Ferdi has been named Inventor of the Year in recognition of his sustained technical leadership, innovation, and impactful contributions to global wireless standards.
The Inventor of the Year award is presented annually to outstanding InterDigital inventors whose patented innovations, technical excellence, industry impact, and commitment to advancing global standards reflect the company’s core values as a world-class research and innovation leader.
Samir joined InterDigital in 2007 and has played a key role in advancing secure and intelligent wireless systems. His innovations span 4G and 5G technologies covering vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, device-to-device connectivity, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cellular network security – enabling use cases in smartphones, IoT devices, and connected automobiles, among other industry verticals.
“Samir represents the very best of InterDigital’s innovation culture,” said InterDigital CEO Liren Chen. “His ability to identify critical challenges early, develop practical and forward-looking solutions, and drive their adoption in global standards bodies has strengthened our leadership in wireless research and created meaningful impact across the industry.”
A long-standing contributor to 3GPP, Samir has been an active participant in SA3, the working group responsible for security and privacy, for the past eight years. His work focuses on ensuring next-generation networks are secure, resilient, and privacy-preserving, while addressing emerging threats as wireless systems evolve toward 6G.
With a background in software implementation and telecommunications infrastructure alongside his standards-focused research, Samir brings a unique perspective that bridges real-world deployment constraints with long-term innovation strategy. That combination has enabled him to craft solutions that are not only inventive, but also practical and standards-ready.
“InterDigital’s success is built on inventors who combine deep technical expertise with persistence and vision,” added InterDigital CTO Rajesh Pankaj. “Samir’s leadership in security, intelligent connectivity, and standards engagement exemplifies our mission to invent foundational technologies that empower our connected world.”
About InterDigital®
InterDigital is a global research and development company focused primarily on wireless, video, artificial intelligence (“AI”), and related technologies. We design and develop foundational technologies that enable connected, immersive experiences in a broad range of communications and entertainment products and services. We license our innovations worldwide to companies providing such products and services, including makers of wireless communications devices, consumer electronics, IoT devices, cars and other motor vehicles, and providers of cloud-based services such as video streaming. As a leader in wireless technology, our engineers have designed and developed a wide range of innovations that are used in wireless products and networks, from the earliest digital cellular systems to 5G and today’s most advanced Wi-Fi technologies. We are also a leader in video processing and video encoding/decoding technology, with a significant AI research effort that intersects with both wireless and video technologies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on Nasdaq.
InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc.
For more information, visit: www.interdigital.com.
InterDigital Contact:
Roya Stephens
Email: roya.stephens@interdigital.com
+1 (202) 349-1714
