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Arthur Rock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withArthur's Rock.
Arthur Rock
Rock in January 2003
Born(1926-08-19)August 19, 1926(age 98)
Rochester, New York,U.S.
Alma materSyracuse University(BA, 1948)
Harvard University(MBA, 1951)
OccupationVenture capitalist
Known forEarly investor inIntelandApple Computer
SpouseToni Rembe

Arthur Rock(born August 19, 1926) is an American businessman and investor. Based inSilicon Valley,California,he was an early investor in major firms includingIntel,Apple,Scientific Data SystemsandTeledyne.[1]

Early life

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Rock was born and raised inRochester, New York,in aJewishfamily.[2][3][4]He was an only child and his father owned a small candy store where Rock worked in his youth.[4]He joined theU.S. ArmyduringWorld War IIbut the war ended before he was deployed.[4]He then went to college on theG.I. Bill.[4]He graduated with abachelor's degreeinbusiness administrationfromSyracuse Universityin 1948 and earned anMBAfromHarvard Business Schoolin 1951.[5]

Career

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Rock started his career in 1951 as a securities analyst inNew York City,and then joined the corporate finance department ofHayden, Stone & Companyin New York, where he focused on raising money for small high-technology companies.[6]In 1957, when the "traitorous eight"leftShockley Semiconductor Laboratory,Rock was the one who helped them find a place to go: he convincedSherman Fairchildto startFairchild Semiconductor.[7]

In 1961, he moved to California. Along withThomas J. Davis Jr.,he formed theSan Franciscoventure capital firm Davis & Rock.[8]

In 1968,Robert Noyce,Gordon Moore,and anotherFairchildemployee namedAndy Grove,were ready to start a new company,Intel.Noyce contacted his good friend Rock, with whom he used to hike and camp. Rock described how Intel started.

"Bob (Noyce) just called me on the phone. We'd been friends for a long time.… Documents? There was practically nothing. Noyce's reputation was good enough. We put out a page-and-a-half little circular, but I'd raised the money even before people saw it."[9]

Intel was incorporated inMountain View, California,on July 18, 1968, bychemistGordon E. Moore(known for "Moore's law"),Robert Noyce,a physicist and co-inventor of theintegrated circuit.Of the original 500,000 shares Noyce held 245,000, Moore 245,000, and Rock 10,000; all at $1 per share. Rock raised $2.5 million ofconvertible debenturesfrom a limited group of private investors in one day.[10]Rock became Intel's first chairman.[11]

In 1978,Mike MarkullaofApple Computerhooked upSteve JobsandSteve Wozniakwith Rock. Rock bought 640,000 shares of Apple Computer and became a long-time director of the company.[10]

Rock's investments and personal guidance helped launch and govern a distinguished roster of corporate firms includingIntel,Apple,Scientific Data Systems,Teledyne,Xerox,Argonaut Insurance,AirTouch,theNasdaq Stock Market,andEchelon Corporation.[12]

Venture capital

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Main article:Venture capital

During the 1950s, putting a venture capital deal together may have required the help of two or three other organizations to complete the transaction. It was a business that was growing very rapidly, and as the business grew, the transactions grew exponentially. Arthur Rock, one of the pioneers ofSilicon Valleyduring his venturing theFairchild Semiconductoris often credited with the introduction of the term "venture capitalist"that has since become widely accepted.[10][12]

Rock's law

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See also:Rock's law

Rock's law or Moore's second law, named for Arthur Rock andGordon Moore,respectively, says that the cost of asemiconductor chipfabrication plantdoubles every four years.[citation needed]As of 2023, the price had already reached about 20 billion US dollars.[13]

Rock's law can be seen as the economic flip side toMoore's (first) law– that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years. The latter is a direct consequence of the ongoing growth of the capital-intensive semiconductor industry— innovative and popular products mean more profits, meaning more capital available to invest in ever higher levels oflarge-scale integration,which in turn leads to the creation of even more innovative products.

Philanthropy

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In 2003, Rock donated $25 million to theHarvard Business Schoolto establish the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.[6]He and his wife Toni founded the Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance atStanford University.Mr. Rock was co-founder and past president of The Basic Fund which gives scholarships to inner city children to attend K-8 private schools. He is also on the board ofTeach for AmericaandChildren's Scholarship Fundand an active funder ofKIPP[14]

Rock has donated to many political causes, especially in the area of education. He has donated to more than 30 school board elections across the country. In 2021, he donated over $500,000 to the2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections.[15]

Awards

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Personal life

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He is married to lawyer Toni Rembe.[19]Together with his wife, Rock has been a supporter ofTeach For America.The organization's annual Social Innovation Award is named in their honor.[20]

Rock was portrayed by actorJ. K. Simmonsin the 2013 biographical dramaJobs.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Arthur Rock (MBA '51) - Alumni - Harvard Business School".December 1997.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-04-12.Retrieved2018-04-02.
  2. ^"Among America's Mega- Donors, Many Jews, but Few Gifts to Jews".Jewish Telegraph Agency.February 24, 2004.Archivedfrom the original on July 5, 2018.
  3. ^VideoonYouTube
  4. ^abcdHarvard Business School: "ARTHUR ROCK"retrieved October 8, 2015ArchivedSeptember 24, 2015, at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Interview with Rob WalkerArchived2003-08-11 at theWayback Machineon November 12, 2002 as part ofThe Silicon Genesis ProjectArchived2004-11-22 at theWayback MachinewithStanford University
  6. ^ab"Harvard Business School Receives $25 Million from Venture Capitalist Arthur Rock"(Press release).Harvard Business School.2003-01-31.Archivedfrom the original on 17 April 2007.Retrieved2007-05-07.
  7. ^"Arthur Rock".HBS Bulletin Online.Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2007.Retrieved2007-05-07.
  8. ^"Arthur Rock: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek".investing.businessweek.Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2013.Retrieved6 November2012.
  9. ^"Arthur Rock | Encyclopedia".encyclopedia.Retrieved2023-06-03.
  10. ^abc"Arthur Rock | Encyclopedia".encyclopedia.Retrieved2023-06-02.
  11. ^Deffree, Suzanne (July 18, 2019)."Intel is founded, July 18, 1968".
  12. ^abSchool, Stanford Law (2023-01-05)."Legal Matters: Arthur Rock on the Early Venture Capital Decisions That Sparked Decades of Innovation".Stanford Law School.Retrieved2023-06-02.
  13. ^Bobrowsky, Meghan."Intel to Invest at Least $20 Billion in Ohio Chip-Making Facility".WSJ.Retrieved2023-05-09.
  14. ^School, Stanford Law."Advisory Board".Stanford Law School.Retrieved2023-06-02.
  15. ^"Who is Arthur Rock, the school board recall's biggest backer?".9 February 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-03-10.Retrieved2022-03-11.
  16. ^abcDavid C. Brock, David C. Brock (2002-10-09)."Oral history interview with Arthur Rock".Archivedfrom the original on 2022-11-30.
  17. ^"Arents Award".cusecommunity.syr.edu.Retrieved2023-06-02.
  18. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  19. ^"Stanford Launches the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance"(Press release).Business Wire.6 March 2006.Retrieved1 May2011.
  20. ^"The Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Social Innovation Award".Teach For America.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-02-06.Retrieved2020-02-06.
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