Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. The company aimed to create a computer chip that would make graphics for video games faster and more realistic. Its invention of the graphics processor unit (GPU) in 1999 played a significant role in the growth of the PC gaming market and redefined computer graphics.
The three engineers who founded Nvidia are Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. They started the company in 1993, with a vision to bring 3D graphics to the gaming and multimedia markets. Their invention of the GPU in 1999 revolutionized computer graphics and set the stage for Nvidia's role in the AI industry.
Nvidia's CEO Huang argues that the company's AI chips can save money for operators of data centers focused on large language models and other compute-intensive workloads1. The chips run much faster and more efficiently than CPUs, leading to significant savings on energy and capital costs. This has led to a shift in data centers from general-purpose computing to accelerated computing, with companies building "AI factories" for processing and generating AI models.