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‘One of Silicon Valley’s founding fathers’ has died

Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore holds up a silicon wafer at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, March 9, 2005. | AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Superlatives describing Gordon Moore as a "giant," "true visionary" and a "founding father" of Silicon Valley—and that was all in just one tweet from Apple CEO Tim Cook!—flew across social media platforms Friday evening and Saturday morning as news broke that the Intel co-founder had died.

The San Francisco-born Moore died peacefully at his home in Hawaii, according to a statement from Intel. He was 94.

Moore's career helped shape the semiconductor industry and his famous prediction that the speed and efficiency of computers would double every year became known as Moore’s Law.

Moore founded Intel in 1968 with his colleague Robert Noyce and became its chairperson and CEO. He eventually stepped down from his final role at Intel as chairman emeritus to focus on philanthropy.

Salesforce co-founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff tweeted that despite his prominence in the tech industry, Moore "remained one of the most humble and kind individuals I have ever met."

Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted that Moore was an inspiration to him. "RIP Gordon Moore. His vision inspired so many of us to pursue technology, was an inspiration to me. Thoughts with his family and everyone at Intel."

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has donated more than $5 billion to charitable causes since it was founded in 2000, Intel wrote in Moore's obituary.

“Though he never aspired to be a household name, Gordon’s vision and his life’s work enabled the phenomenal innovation and technological developments that shape our everyday lives," foundation president Harvey Fineberg said in the obituary. "Yet those historic achievements are only part of his legacy. His and Betty’s generosity as philanthropists will shape the world for generations to come."

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