NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) ranks among the world’s leading microchip manufacturers and is best known for its contributions in the fields of graphics and gaming. Its chips and related software power the fastest, highest-resolution graphics and are featured in a line of products that include solutions for all end-market uses. Along with gaming, NVIDIA microchips are used in visualization, datacenter, AI, and autonomous vehicles just to name a few.
NVIDIA was founded in 1993 by three friends and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company was intended to focus on chips for the budding gaming and entertainment industry that was spawned by the rise of the personal computer and the Internet. At the time of its founding, there were less than 30 graphics-focused independent operators and that figure would more than double over the next few years.
NVIDIA launched its first product in 1995 called the NV1 and paved the way for 3-D games like Sega’s Virtual Fighter. The next big break came in 1996 with the launch of Microsoft DirectX Drivers which changed how Windows interfaced with games. The next year, in 1997, the company will release the world’s first 128-bit 3-D processor. It quickly gains acceptance gaming OEMs and more than 1 million units are shipped the first four months. Later, in 199, the company will invet the GPU and change the world of computing forever. The GPU will not only enhance the graphics capabilities of the PC but lead to accelerated-computing and AI as well. NVIDIA also held its IPO that same year.
Founders Jensen Huang and Chris Malachowsky are still in leadership positions. Mr. Huang has served as the company’s CEO, president, and board member since the company’s founding. Mr. Malachowsky serves as a member of the company’s executive staff and is a senior technology executive.
Today, NVIDIA Corporation is the only remaining independently operating graphics-focused microchip company in operation. The company’s business has evolved from the core gaming-oriented business to include graphics-oriented computing, and networking solutions in the United States, Taiwan, China, and internationally but gaming is still a pillar of the business.
NVIDIA’s Graphics segment offers GeForce GPUs for gaming and PCs, the GeForce NOW game streaming service and related infrastructure, and software solutions for gaming platforms. The company also offers the Quadro/NVIDIA RTX GPUs for enterprise-level workstation graphics, the vGPU software for cloud-based visual and virtual computing, and entertainment platforms for OEM auto manufacturers, and Omniverse software for 3-D world-building.
NVIDIA’s Compute & Networking segment provides a wide range of solutions for interconnect, AI/autonomous driving, cryptocurrency mining, robotics, Data Center platforms and accelerated computing. Products include Mellanox for networking and interconnect, Jetson for robotics and embedded applications, and AI Enterprise software among others.
