NVIDIA is an American multinational technology company incorporated in Delaware and based in Santa Clara, California. The company was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Curtis Priem, and Chris Malachowsky. It is well known for designing graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming and professional markets, as well as system on a chip units (SoCs) for the mobile computing and automotive markets.
NVIDIA derives its name from the Latin word 'invidia' which translates to 'envy' in English. The nomenclature reflects the company's positioning to capture the envy of the tech-driven masses owing to its innovative graphics solutions and high-end technology products.
In the late 1990s, NVIDIA became a key player in the tech industry with the invention of the GPU, a single-chip processor with integrated transform, lighting, triangle setup/clipping, and rendering engines, designed for high-performance, high-resolution 3D graphics. The GPU essentially improved the overall user experience by taking on the complex computations of graphics processing, allowing the computer's central processing unit (CPU) to focus on other tasks.
Over the years, NVIDIA continued to innovate and evolve beyond gaming. Its development of a parallel computing platform and API model, known as CUDA, allows software developers and software engineers to use NVIDIA GPUs for general purpose processing. More recently, the company has ventured into artificial intelligence, deep learning, autonomous vehicles, and related technologies.
NVIDIA's deep learning platform is now considered the world's leading one for powering AI in data centers. It aids in the analysis of large amounts of information in order to enable faster, smarter decision making, and more effective, user-friendly artificial intelligence.
In the automotive industry, NVIDIA’s DRIVE platform enables automakers, truck makers, tier 1 suppliers, and startups to accelerate production of automated and autonomous vehicles. This scalable, comprehensive, and secure platform utilizes AI to perform a wide range of critical driving functions—from simple tasks such as adjusting mirrors and climate control, to complex operations like monitoring driver awareness, tracking objects, and more.
As it continues to expand and create novel offerings, NVIDIA is making significant contributions towards creating a future where AI and advanced graphics technologies play increasingly significant roles.