Hồ Thành Việt (; 1955–2003) was a Vietnamese-American computer engineer and entrepreneur who is credited with making desktop publishing more accessible to Vietnamese speakers. Biography Việt was born in Nha Trang, South Vietnam, on July 20, 1955. He fled South Vietnam aboard a United States Navy ship on the same day that Saigon fell, leaving his family behind, and arrived in California unable to speak English. He graduated from California State University, Fullerton, in 1985 with a degree in electrical engineering. After working at various computer companies, he founded VNI Software Company in 1987 and began working there full-time the following year. VNI was one of the first companies to market software designed for the Vietnamese language. He died on August 28, 2003, in Fountain Valley, California. References External links VNI Software Co. Interviews Hồ Thành Việt, VNCR 2001. Người phát minh bộ chữ Việt VNI trên máy điện toán, Vietnamese Công ty VNI và những bước đi tới, 2001 VNI vs. Microsoft Corporation, 1998 1955 births 2003 deaths American computer programmers California State University, Fullerton alumni Vietnamese emigrants to the United States Vietnamese community activists Vietnamese engineers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American engineers People from Nha Trang