Arthur Rock

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

Arthur Rock (born August 19, 1926) is an American businessman and investor. He is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of the venture capital industry and played a crucial role in the early development of major technology companies, including Intel, Apple, and Fairchild Semiconductor.

Early life and education[edit | edit source]

Arthur Rock was born in Rochester, New York. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1948 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1951.

Career[edit | edit source]

After graduating from Harvard, Rock moved to California and joined the corporate finance department of Hayden, Stone & Co. In 1957, he and his partner, Tom Perkins, formed the venture capital firm Davis & Rock. This firm was one of the first to focus on technology startups, and it played a significant role in the creation of the Silicon Valley.

Rock is perhaps best known for his involvement in the "traitorous eight" incident. In 1957, he helped eight talented scientists leave Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor, which became a seminal company in the development of the Silicon Valley.

In 1961, Rock formed a new venture capital firm, Arthur Rock & Co., which became one of the most successful venture capital firms in the United States. The firm invested in several major technology companies, including Intel and Apple.

Legacy[edit | edit source]

Arthur Rock's contributions to the technology industry and the venture capital field have been widely recognized. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2006, he donated $25 million to the Harvard Business School to establish the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Arthur Rock Resources

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD