Gordon E Moore, the co-founder of Intel Corporation, an American global corporation and technology company, died on Saturday at his home in Hawaii, according to the New York Times.
Intel and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation both announced his death, however neither provided information about his demise.
Moore's insight in the 1960s regarding the exponential rise of computer chip technology laid the foundation for the high-tech era.
While Moore clearly played a significant part in the development of the technology that powers current computer devices, many people will be familiar with his name because of "Moore's law," his 1965 prediction that processor transistor counts would roughly double every year.
According to the New York Times, the California semiconductor chip company that helped give Silicon Valley its name has gained massive economic dominance previously held by the enormous American railroad or steel industries of bygone times.
'Accidental Entrepreneur'
Moore referred to himself as a "accidental entrepreneur" since he always wanted to be a teacher but was unable to do so. He became a billionaire as a result of his first USD 500 investment in the fledgling microchip sector, which helped to make electronics one of the world's greatest industries.
Furthermore, he is credited with making laptop computers available to hundreds of millions of people and with incorporating microprocessors into everything from toaster ovens, bathroom scales, and toy fire trucks to telephones, automobiles, and aircraft, according to the New York Times.Moore and his wife Betty made significant contributions to philanthropy.
Moore's philanthropy
In 2001, the Moores established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and contributed 175 million Intel shares. They donated the largest single gift to a university at the time, USD 600 million, to the California Institute of Technology in 2001.
In July 1968, Moore and his long-time colleague Robert Noyce started Intel.
Prior to taking office as president in 1975, Moore was executive vice president. Moore was appointed board chairman and CEO in 1979, positions he maintained until 1987 when he resigned from the CEO role but retained the chairmanship, the Intel newsroom informed.
Significantly, by the 1990s, Intel had microprocessors in 80% of the computers built worldwide, making it the most successful semiconductor company in history.
