Bill Gates ‘stunned’ at Intel’s troubles, says comeback odds look ‘pretty tough’ – OregonLive
Bill Gates speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.AP Photo/Jae C. HongMicrosoft founder Bill Gates said he might have gone down a different career path if Intel hadn’t made the technological breakthroughs that created a tiny chip capable of powering a personal computer during the early 1970s. In an interview with The Associated Press to discuss his new memoir, “Source Code: My Beginnings,” Gates said that advance created the need for programs to use the computer, prompting Gates and Paul Allen to launch Micro-Soft, a name derived from microprocessor and software (the hyphen was later dropped).That’s why Gates has a soft spot for Intel, which missed the shift from PCs to smartphones 18 years ago, just as Microsoft did. But Microsoft has bounced back while Intel’s troubles have deteriorated to the point that it’s looking for a new CEO since the abrupt departure of Pat Gelsinger in December, raising worries about whether the company will survive. Although he is rooting for Intel, Gates has his doubts about a comeback.“I am stunned that Intel basically lost its way,” Gates said. “(Intel co-founder) Gordon Moore always kept Intel at the state of the art.”Now, Gates said, Intel has fallen behind in both chip design and production, and it would be expensive to catch back up. “They missed the AI chip revolution, and with their fabrication capabilities, they don’t even use standards that people like Nvidia and Qualcomm find easy. I thought Pat Gelsinger was very brave to say, ‘No, I am going to fix the design side, I am going to fix the fab side.’ I was hoping for his sake, for the country’s sake that he would be successful. I hope Intel recovers, but it looks pretty tough for them at this stage.”– The Associated PressIf you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.YouTube’s privacy policy is available here and YouTube’s terms of service is available here.Ad Choices
