Gordon Moore
1929-2023
Co-founder of Intel and author of Moore’s Law
A titan of the technology world left us earlier this week. Personally, I’m surprised his passing was not more widely noticed given the impact he had on our world.
Gordon Moore founded Intel Corporation in 1969 with Robert Noyce and Andy Grove. In 1985 they made a “bet the company” move when they left the memory chip business to focus on microprocessors. It’s likely that one of the devices you rely on uses an Intel processor. A venture capitalist once described Intel as the “the most important company in the world.”
Moore will be most widely remembered for his formulation of “Moore’s Law” which posited that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles about every two years and its cost is cut in half, and that this growth is exponential. Moore’s prediction, originally made nearly 60 years ago, has proven remarkably accurate over the decades. There is debate whether this growth can continue but the benefits we’ve enjoyed because of it is beyond doubt.
Vistage Chairs, often say that “we invite CEOs into the groups and human beings show up.” Dr. Moore was entrepreneur, CEO but most importantly a great human being. A short portrait of that humanity can be found at the Intel website: Gordon Moore: He Stood Alone Among Tech Titans.
Rest in peace, Dr. Moore. You changed the world for the better.
