Eugene Kleiner, who founded two of the most influential
companies in the history of the technology industry, has died at
the age of 80.
Kleiner founded National Semiconductor in 1957 along with seven
scientists and researchers, including Intel co-founders Robert
Noyce and Gordon Moore, to develop the transistor and integrated
circuit they had studied under inventor William Shockley.
Kleiner and Hewlett-Packard veteran Tom Perkins later launched
the seminal Silicon Valley venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers which, since its inception in 1972, has funded
technology startups such as Sun Microsystems, Google, America
Online and Amazon.com.
"Eugene Kleiner was a great pioneer of Silicon Valley who
virtually invented modern venture capital. His contributions in
finance and technology are enormous, and he will be sorely missed,"
Kleiner Perkins said in a statement.
Kleiner retired from the firm in the early 1980s, but had
remained as a partner emeritus, according to Kleiner Perkins'
website. He is survived by two children. His wife, Rose, died in
2001.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News Service