Gordon Moore, Intel founder and Intel, dies at 94

Gordon E. Moore, who revolutionized the manufacture of semiconductor chips and transformed computing, died on March 24. Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationMoore Foundation passed away on Wednesday at the age of 94, and was announced by Intel and the Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationMoore Foundation.

Moore and his longtime colleague Robert Noyce founded Intel in July 1968. Moore was initially serving as executive vice president until he became president in 1975. Moore was appointed chairman of the board and chief executive officer in 1979, a position he held until 1987 when he gave up the CEO position and continued as chairman. Moore became chairman emeritus in 1997 and stepped down in 2006.

Gordon Moore defined the technology industry through his insight and vision, according to Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO. He was instrumental in revealing the power of transistors and inspired technologists and entrepreneurs over the decades. We at Intel are inspired by Moore's Law and intend to pursue it until the periodic table is exhausted. Gordon's vision lives on as our true north as we use the power of technology to improve the lives of every person on Earth. My career and most of my life took shape within the possibilities fueled by Gordon's leadership at Intel, and I am humbled by the honor and responsibility to carry his legacy forward. Sanjay Mehrotra, President CEO of Micron Technology, said on Linkedin that we in the tech industry are on the shoulders of giants. Gordon Moore was taller than anyone else. His vision for exponential technology growth has held true almost as if it were a law of physics. He was one of the driving personalities behind the creation of Silicon Valley, drawing together the most ambitious and brightest minds to change the course of human history. His post-career philanthropy has had a positive impact on education, research and environmental conservation. His ideas will be remembered and studied for generations. Prior to establishing Intel, Moore and Noyce played central roles in the founding of Fairchild Semiconductor, where they played central roles in the first commercial production of diffused silicon transistors and later the world's first commercially viable integrated circuits. The two had previously worked together under William Shockley, the co-inventor of the transistor, and founder of Shockley Semiconductor, which was the first semiconductor company in what would become Silicon Valley. After striking out on their own, Moore and Noyce hired the future Intel CEO Andy Grove as the third employee, and the three of them built Intel into one of the world's great companies. They became known as the Intel Trinity, and their legacy continues today.

K Krishna Moorthy, CEO of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association IESA said IESA deeply mourns the demise of Gordon Moore, the stalwart and thought leader in the Semiconductor Industry. His innovative mind, thinking, and foresight, all collectively expressed by Moore's Law, piloted the semiconductor chip industry from the later part of last century. The numerous innovations that happened in the ever shrinking chip geometry will owe its gratitude to him. Mr Moore presided over the world for a number of decades and made it a better place to live. His passing away marks the end of a golden era, but his name and legacy will always live for a long time.