It hit me like an atom bomb. It was just so clearly the way that things were going to go in the future. It was one of those rare moments where you see a whole new technology opening up. – Robert Noyce, upon being shown a transistor for the first time by his professor Grant Gale

It was like picking up the phone and talking to God. – Robert Noyce, on receiving a call from Willian Shickley asking him to join his company

Competition breeds excellence. It is the only way to keep from becoming complacent and falling into the 'we’ve always done it this way' trap.– Robert Noyce

What else can you do with this wonderful idea? – Patent attorney John Ralls to Noyce on Jean Hoerni's planar transistor breakthrough (which triggered Noyce’s IC invention)

We scooped the industry!– Robert Noyce, after Fairchild Semi unveiled the first working planar transistors at a trade show

In the early days at Fairchild, we didn't have the experts around, so we all had to become experts. If you needed a furnace, you built a furnace. If you needed a glassblower, you learned how to blow glass. – Robert Noyce

We need to ‘show the flag’ at Wescon in August. We’ve got to show them that the integrated circuit isn't just a laboratory curiosity, but a production reality. – Robert Noyce to Jay Last, directing him to build a prototype IC to counter TI's announcement

I thought: 'Let's see, if we could do this, we could do that. If we could do that, we could do this.’ If I hit a wall, I'd back up and then find a path, conceptually, all the way to the end. Once you get to the point where you can see the top of the mountain, then you know you can get there. – Robert Noyce on his thought process for inventing the IC

The money doesn't seem real; it's just a way of keeping score in the game of innovation. – Robert Noyce in a letter to his father after becoming wealthy from his Fairchild Semi stock

I came here for my friend. The Nobel Prize for the integrated circuit would undoubtedly have been shared by Bob Noyce if he were alive. I thought I should be here so that Bob would have a presence when his invention was honored. – Gordon Moore on Noyce missing the 2000 Nobel Prize (because it is not awarded posthumously)

With your reputation, money won’t be a problem. Especially if you can bring Gordon along. The two of you are a formidable team. – Arthur Rock to Noyce, when the latter was thinking of leaving Fairchild and starting a new company

Aggressive goals force us to think differently, move faster, and find ways to do things that we otherwise would have thought impossible. – Robert Noyce

Bob's decision to cut chip prices in anticipation of future cost reductions was a game-changer. I think it was just as important as his invention of the integrated circuit. It moved the IC from being a high-priced specialty item for the military to a commodity that could be used in everything. – Gordon Moore, about Noyce’s gutsy move which foreshadowed “Moore’s Law”

Use money to buy time because money is cheaper than time. – Robert Noyce

We were betting on the jockey, not the horse.– Warren Buffet on his firm’s early investment in Intel

Sometimes, you’ve got to bet on yourself, especially when the odds are long. The greater the risk, the greater the potential reward. We aren't just building another company; we’re building the future of electronics. – Robert Noyce to Ted Hoff while recruiting him into Intel

We don’t really care who has what title. They’re just for outsiders to understand our roles. Inside, what matters is what you contribute. – Robert Noyce, explaining to his son about executive titles at Intel

If everything you try works, you aren't trying hard enough. With engineering, I view this year's failure as next year's opportunity to try it again.– Gordon Moore

Moore's Law is a violation of Murphy's Law. Everything gets better and better. – Gordon Moore

In those early years at Intel, we were always walking a thin line next to the cliff of disaster. One major manufacturing mistake, one bad batch of silicon, or one missed deadline could have wiped us out completely. – Robert Noyce

Only the paranoid survive. – Andy Grove (also the title of his bestselling book)

If you have all the information you need to make a decision, you're probably making it too late. – Robert Noyce, articulating his “principle of minimum information”

Why don’t you go ahead and pursue those ideas? It’s always good to have a backup position.– Robert Noyce directing Ted Hoff to pursue his ideas on the Busicom project, sparking the invention of the microprocessor at Intel

No exponential is forever... but we can delay 'forever' for a long time. – Gordon Moore, on the exponential nature of Moore’s Law

There are really only three things you can do with money: You can spend it, you can use it to make more money, or you can use it to build a future… by investing in the people and the ideas that will be here long after you are gone. – Robert Noyce, teaching his children the different ways to use money

Don’t be encumbered by history. Go off and do something wonderful. – Robert Noyce’s advice to entrepreneurs

Optimism is the essential ingredient for innovation. How else can the individual welcome change over security, or adventure over staying in safe places? – Robert Noyce

Technology is the looking glass through which we can pass to advance the collective knowledge of mankind and create a better world to live in. – Robert Noyce