Moore and Robert Noyce founded Intel in 1968.
Gordon Moore, co-founder and former chairman of technology giant Intel, died Friday at the age of 94, the company and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation announced.
A press release said Moore died “surrounded by family” in Hawaii.
Moore and Robert Noyce founded Intel in 1968. Moore initially served as executive vice president until 1975. In 1979, Moore was appointed chairman of the board and CEO, and continued as chairman until 1987, when he stepped down as CEO.
Moore became Intel’s chairman in 1997 and stepped down in 2006.
“Those who met and worked with Gordon will forever be impressed by his wisdom, humility and generosity,” foundation president Harvey Feinberg said in a statement. “Although he never intended to become a household name, Gordon’s vision and his life’s work enabled groundbreaking inventions and technological developments that shape our everyday lives. Yet those historic achievements are only part of his legacy.”
Pat Kelsinger, CEO of Intel, said, “Gordon Moore defined the technology industry with his insight and vision. He was instrumental in unleashing the power of transistors and inspired technologists and entrepreneurs for decades.”
Before founding Intel, Moore and Noyce were involved in the founding of Fairchild Semiconductor, where they were instrumental in the early commercial production of widespread silicon transistors and later in the world’s first commercially viable integrated circuits.
“The world has lost a great man in Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Silicon Valley and a true visionary who paved the way for the technological revolution,” Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted. “All of us who followed him owe him a debt of gratitude. May he rest in peace.”
Along with his wife of 72 years, Betty Irene Whittaker, he founded the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which has awarded more than $5.1 billion since its founding in 2000, according to the foundation.
Moore received the National Medal of Technology from President George HW Bush in 1990 and the Presidential Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush in 2002.
Besides his wife, Moore is survived by his sons, Kenneth and Steven, and four grandchildren.
