Gordon Moore, co-founder and former CEO of Intel, has passed away at the age of 94. Moore was the last surviving member of the Intel Trinity, which also included his fellow founder Robert Noyce and their first hire Andy Grove. Moore and Noyce had previously worked with William Shockley, the co-inventor of the transistor before starting their own company, NM Electronics, which eventually became Intel in 1968.
Moore is most famous for his prediction, outlined in a 1965 paper, that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every year, leading to the creation and production of smaller and more powerful chips that would enable advancements in technology. This prediction was dubbed “Moore’s Law,” and it was proven accurate in the years that followed. By 1975, Moore adjusted his estimate for the doubling of transistors to every two years, though now top chipmakers disagree on whether Moore’s Law still holds.
In 1979, Moore became the chairman of the board and CEO at Intel before giving up the latter role in 1987. He played a crucial role in the company’s decision to focus on microprocessors instead of continuing in its memory business. Before Moore completely stepped down from his duties at Intel in 2006, he and his wife established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation with $5 billion in funding. The foundation supported environmental conservation efforts, mostly in the San Francisco Bay area, and donated to various educational institutions’ science and technology departments.
Moore’s legacy has left a significant impact on the tech industry, and his fundamental prediction of “Moore’s Law” has been instrumental in driving the constant innovation and advancement of electronics for decades. His contributions to Intel were significant, and his philanthropic efforts through the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have made an equally important impact on environmental conservation and technological education.
