The Lasting Legacy of Gordon Moore

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Gordon Moore, the tech industry veteran, died today at the age of 94.

He was one of the nation's greatest citizens as a pioneer of the semiconductor industry and chairman emeritus of Intel, which he co-founded in 1968. He was known for formulating the law of Moore in 1965. He predicted that the number of components on a chip would double approximately every two years.

This prediction held remarkably well for about 58 years. In 1965, chipmakers could fit about 64 transistors on a chip. In 1971, Intel could put 2,300 transistors on its first microprocessor, the Intel 4004. Nvidia can now put 80 billion transistors on a graphics processing unit (GPU), and Cerebras can put 2.6 trillion transistors on a wafer of silicon the size of a pizza.
That's the power of exponential growth. And that's why Silicon Valley has become a global tech hub and why America has dominated the tech industry. It's a sad comment that Moore passed away the same month that Silicon Valley Bank declared bankruptcy.
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Moore died at his home in Hawaii, surrounded by his family, Intel said in a statement.

Moore and longtime colleague Robert Noyce founded Intel in July 1968 (Andy Grove was considered an employee, but he was also often honored as a co-founder). Moore initially served as executive vice president until 1975, when he became president. In 1979 Moore was named Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, positions he held until 1987, when he relinquished the position of CEO and continued as Chairman. In 1997, Moore became president emeritus, stepping down in 2006.

Gordon Moore and Thomas Friedman.
I had the pleasure of meeting Moore in the early days, when he regularly came out to be a beacon for young leaders in Silicon Valley, which was a bunch of orchards when he arrived in the Bay Area. Like Intel co-founders Robert Noyce and Andy Grove, Moore has become one of Silicon Valley's foremost thought leaders.

He noted at one point that the number of transistors built by the chip industry had roughly exceeded the number of ants in the world. Such calculations have inspired engineers around the world. And they communicated the magnitude of the electronic revolution.

He was also nice. I last saw him in person in 2015 at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Moore's Law. He appeared on stage with New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman. They talked about how semiconductors, which Moore pioneered at Shockley Laboratori...

Business Mar 25, 2023 0 60 Add to Reading List

Connect with the top leaders in gaming in Los Angeles during GamesBeat Summit 2023 on May 22-23. Register here.

Gordon Moore, the tech industry veteran, died today at the age of 94.

He was one of the nation's greatest citizens as a pioneer of the semiconductor industry and chairman emeritus of Intel, which he co-founded in 1968. He was known for formulating the law of Moore in 1965. He predicted that the number of components on a chip would double approximately every two years.

This prediction held remarkably well for about 58 years. In 1965, chipmakers could fit about 64 transistors on a chip. In 1971, Intel could put 2,300 transistors on its first microprocessor, the Intel 4004. Nvidia can now put 80 billion transistors on a graphics processing unit (GPU), and Cerebras can put 2.6 trillion transistors on a wafer of silicon the size of a pizza.

That's the power of exponential growth. And that's why Silicon Valley has become a global tech hub and why America has dominated the tech industry. It's a sad comment that Moore passed away the same month that Silicon Valley Bank declared bankruptcy.

Event

GamesBeat Summit 2023

Join the GamesBeat community in Los Angeles on May 22-23. You'll hear from the brightest minds in the gaming industry to share their updates on the latest developments.

Moore died at his home in Hawaii, surrounded by his family, Intel said in a statement.

Moore and longtime colleague Robert Noyce founded Intel in July 1968 (Andy Grove was considered an employee, but he was also often honored as a co-founder). Moore initially served as executive vice president until 1975, when he became president. In 1979 Moore was named Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, positions he held until 1987, when he relinquished the position of CEO and continued as Chairman. In 1997, Moore became president emeritus, stepping down in 2006.

I had the pleasure of meeting Moore in the early days, when he regularly came out to be a beacon for young leaders in Silicon Valley, which was a bunch of orchards when he arrived in the Bay Area. Like Intel co-founders Robert Noyce and Andy Grove, Moore has become one of Silicon Valley's foremost thought leaders.

He noted at one point that the number of transistors built by the chip industry had roughly exceeded the number of ants in the world. Such calculations have inspired engineers around the world. And they communicated the magnitude of the electronic revolution.

He was also nice. I last saw him in person in 2015 at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Moore's Law. He appeared on stage with New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman. They talked about how semiconductors, which Moore pioneered at Shockley Laboratori...