–At 59 years old, and being a millionaire, can’t you think of anything better than planning series of chips that will inevitably be out of date in a few months?
-In the interests of the company and my private life, I plan to leave this job in a couple of years, although, truth be told, I cannot imagine any other task as interesting as this.
-When you were young, you wanted to be a journalist and published some articles, but then you emigrated to the United States and escaped to science.
-They were the early fifties, the dark age of Stalinism. Some members of my family and I fell from grace without really understanding why. For a 14-year-old, that is a very hard blow and I reacted like that.
–Wasn’t it because numbers and machines were less unpredictable to you than political junctures?
-Yes. But the irony of the story is that, when I had already decided on something, I ran into the next stumbling block, mathematics, which was not exactly my strong suit. So I started studying chemistry, because it has less to do with numbers. Now my main interest is oriented towards the junction of technology and markets.
–Sometimes things go wrong, as happened with the Pentium, which was initially affected by an error when dividing. The American magazine Business Week titled his article on the subject: “The lesson for Andrew Grove.”
-That is one of the stories I would most like to forget.
–What are the lessons that have led Andy Grove and Intel to the forefront of the industry, and what enabled them to remain in that position?
– I usually undertake things and, when I perceive reactions, I modify my behavior. And I do everything step by step: this would be my basic pattern of behavior.
?“Only those who are paranoid survive”, is his phrase. His colleague Craig Barrett, when he said “We are paranoid competitive,” confirmed that, in a way, that motto has become company regulation at Intel.
-It is more than a mere persecution mania. The more successful you are, the more people want to get a share of what has caused that success. That is why we build factories before we have a precise idea of the type of chips we will produce in them. We have never reached a situation where we could just hunker down.
–Where does the main danger for you come from at this moment?
-Currently, the greatest threat is also our best opportunity: the Internet. It is what will determine the future of communication, and its possibilities are gigantic. But if we don’t act prudently, this development can backfire on us.
–Do you surf the Internet?
-Yes, one or two hours a week. When I read the newspapers I tend to pull up the Internet addresses and when I am online I click on the next cross reference, and so on, until at the end I feel completely lost and frustrated.
–His colleague Larry Ellison, head of the Oracle company, which manufactures data banks, assures that data memories on the network will gradually replace the conventional PC. Instead the dummy terminal will appear. Bad times for Intel chips?
-The network will decisively influence the data processing. However, I can’t understand how one of those dumb terminals will replace the PC. The gadgets Larry has in mind – they would have to be even simpler than the PCs no one bought this past Christmas anymore. I think Larry is so blind with hatred against Microsoft that he has ended up fooling himself.
–You have been joined by Bill Gates’ Microsoft for 17 years, an informal alliance that has led to the creation of a standard system, the Wintel PC, that is, Windows programs plus Intel chips. How do you personally understand Mr. Microsoft, a man who, by age, could be your son?
-I have never considered our relationship from that point of view. We understand each other well. There are more things in common between the two companies than disparities: both are aggressive, competitive, fast. We are a little older and softer. This shows the difference of ten years in the average age of the management teams of both companies.
–Is this the reason why it is not easy to accuse them of monopolistic practices? This accusation is frequently brought against Microsoft.
-We have never stopped having competition, never. But none of the six lawsuits launched against us have been successful. At that point we are extraordinarily cautious, something that is achieved with age. We instruct our sales managers very scrupulously about the clean and dirty methods of competition.
–Are you accusing Microsoft of using unclean methods?
– In no way does it have to be understood as a criticism.
–They call you the Mad Hungarian in the guild. Recently, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, joked, “Without Andy, we would be a much nicer and more enjoyable company.”
-I’m someone who exerts a lot of pressure, but I also like to be pulled. If we are not the ones who push ourselves, someone else will do it. At first it was time, then came the time of the PC, a faster time; now the Internet time comes to us, which is much faster. The challenge remains that of having to be even faster. I owe my disastrous reputation to that way of looking at things.
–Bill Gates integrates technologies such as email into his everyday life. What is your attitude in this regard?
-For me the most useful thing is ProShare, the videoconferencing system through PC, with which I can give them from my home or from my office, while my audience is in Europe or Asia. Email, the Internet, and a word processing program are important tools for me.
–Would you like to read the newspaper on a monitor?
-Do not. That is as difficult for me to imagine as e-books. No matter how good the device is, it does not allow you to recline in an armchair with a cup of coffee in your hand. Contrary to what has been understood so far, we are facing a completely new medium that is not a substitute for the conventional ones. I will give an example: the DVD (Digital Video Disk), which is already in place, allows a completely new data density and transmission speed and makes possible audiovisual experiences that outshine any video game console. If you associate with the Internet, with two and a half hours of multimedia cinema you can configure all kinds of fascinating applications. In the near future, the modem may be so developed that it is possible to connect the PC directly to the television cable.
–Information technology is changing the world economy. Silicon Valley companies open branches in India or China. What role will these countries play?
-Giant consumer markets are emerging there. When it comes to PC consumption, China has ranked sixth in the world, and that’s just the beginning. China is emerging as an exporter dedicated to the production of electronic components and will become a competitor to the United States.
–Do you think that, in the future, migrant workers will arrive through the computer network?
– They have already arrived, and there is nothing to object. A book or magazine can be composed in a country with low wage costs and sent over the web to where it is printed. Protectionist resistance will emerge, but I don’t think it will be the least successful. Living standards will tend to equalize: good news for developing countries and less good news for industrialized nations.
–And for Intel?
-We like to talk about globalization of markets, at least as long as we are the exporters. But it not only means better opportunities, but also tougher competition. To show that you are never paranoid enough in this area.
T. Borchert y G. Meissner
This interview was published in July 1996, in number 182 of VERY Interesting
