Gordon Moore A look back at the life of Intel's co-founder.

Prior to establishing Intel, Moore and Robert Noyce participated 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. Upon striking out on their own, Moore and Noyce hired future Intel CEO Andy Grove as Intel's third employee. The trio built Intel into one of the world’s great companies.

"The accidental entrepreneur like me has to fall into the opportunity or be pushed into it."

Ever humble, Moore followed up by saying, "Then the entrepreneurial spirit eventually catches on."

"We are bringing about the next great revolution in the history of mankind — the transition to the electronic age."

Despite Moore's reluctance to spotlight his own contributions, he recognized his role in the semiconductor revolution.

"For the first 20 years, I couldn’t utter the term Moore’s Law. It was embarrassing. It wasn’t a law. Finally, I got accustomed to it where now I could say it with a straight face."

At a 2015 event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Moore's Law, Moore admitted that he was chagrined by the publicity surrounding his namesake 1965 prediction that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every year.

"We thought we had an opportunity to make a significant impact on the world. ... To do something permanent and hopefully on a large scale."

In 2000, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was created "to create positive outcomes for future generations."

For more information about Gordon Moore, visit newsroom.intel.com

Appreciate

Credits:

Walden Kirsch, Tim Herman