Andrew S. Grove, Intel’s former CEO and Chairman has passed away today at the age of 79.
Being the company founders’ first hire, Grove has been instrumental in Intel’s success today. Back then, Intel pioneered Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chips. However, Intel would soon have to change markets as the Japanese were ‘dumping’ memory chips at below-cost prices in the 1970s. With Intel unable to compete with the Japanese in the memory chip sector, Grove suggested that the company move out of the DRAM business and focus on the at the time fledging microprocessor business.
When Intel was placed under Grove’s control, the company would enjoy enormous success as the company’s 386 and Pentium processors would, in Intel’s own words, “helped usher in the PC era.” The company itself would also have its yearly revenues swell from USD 1.9 billion to USD 26 billion.
Not everything was smooth sailing with Grove however as the man would become entangled with AMD CEO Jerry Sanders over the rights to the x86 architecture. The Pentium chips also came under the spotlight as a math professor found that there is a flaw in said chips, which lead to Intel having to recall the flawed chips and Grove having to apologize publically after dismissing the flaw in the first place.
Despite the man’s flaws, there is no denying that Grove has made tremendous contributions to the industry. Grove will forever be remembered thanks to his role in the rise of personal computing.
Source: VentureBeat, Intel
