Founder of Moore's Law Gordon Moore is dead

Kevin Hofer

27.3.2023

Translation: machine translated

Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, died on 24 March. His influence on the development of the semiconductor industry was enormous.

Without people like Gordon Moore, the semiconductor industry would not be where it is today. The Silicon Valley pioneer was born in San Francisco in 1929. He spent his childhood in California. He graduated from Caltech in 1954 with a doctorate in physics and chemistry.

From Fairchild to Intel co-founder

He then joined the inventor of the transistor, William Shockley. However, Moore did not like his management style and world view. He and seven other employees left Shockley and founded the company Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957.

Moore is head of the development department. In 1965, he wrote an article for the trade journal "Electronics". Here he argues that the integrated circuits in a chip double every year. In 1975, he corrects his statement to every two years. It goes down in history as Moore's Law.

CEO and philanthropist

At this time, Moore was already President of Intel. He founded the company in 1968 together with ex-Fairchild Robert Noyce. He led the company, which was a global leader in semiconductor technology, until 1987, before officially retiring in 2001.

After his retirement, he dedicates himself to charitable causes. Environmental protection, science and patient care are particularly close to his heart. He has now died in Hawaii at the age of 94.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.