Ray Dolby, an American inventor and sound pioneer who founded Dolby Laboratories, has died at the age of 80.
The company said Thursday that Dolby died at his home in San Francisco. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the past few years and was diagnosed with acute leukemia this summer.
Dolby founded the company with his name in 1965. Since then, the company has been constantly evolving, claiming a place among the leading companies in audio technology. His projects on noise reduction and surround sound led to the creation of a series of technologies that are used in music, films and entertainment media in general even today. These innovations made Dolby very rich, since his fortune is estimated at 2.3 billion dollars, according to Forbes magazine.
