Nvidia Corporation, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading multinational technology company renowned for its contributions to the design and development of graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. Founded on April 5, 1993, by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, Nvidia initially set out to focus on accelerated computing, particularly in the realm of graphics-based processing. The company has since expanded into numerous sectors, including high-performance computing, mobile computing, and data center AI.
One of Nvidia's most notable product lines is GeForce, its consumer-oriented GPUs, which are widely used in gaming, video editing, and 3D rendering. On the enterprise side, Nvidia's professional GPUs power advanced computing applications, including supercomputers, engineering workstations, and AI research. By 2023, Nvidia had secured 80.2% of the market share for discrete desktop GPUs, solidifying its dominance in the industry.
Nvidia's technological portfolio extends beyond hardware into software with innovations like CUDA, a parallel computing platform and application programming interface (API) that allows developers to harness the processing power of GPUs for general-purpose tasks. This software has become a cornerstone for deep learning and machine learning applications in scientific research and AI development.
Nvidia's influence in the AI domain reached new heights with the rise of data center chips that cater to the AI boom, making the company one of the most valuable in the world. In 2023, Nvidia crossed the $1 trillion market capitalization mark, becoming one of only a handful of U.S. companies to achieve this milestone. In June 2024, Nvidia briefly overtook Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company, with a valuation exceeding $3.3 trillion.
The company's leadership in AI is underscored by its H100 GPUs, which have become essential for companies investing in generative AI. Nvidia's GPUs are now so crucial that they require special security measures during transit due to their high value and demand.
Despite challenges, including the failed acquisition of Arm due to regulatory concerns, Nvidia continues to innovate in both hardware and AI-driven technologies. The company's expansion into robotics, autonomous driving, and cloud computing ensures its continued influence across multiple industries. Jensen Huang remains at the helm as CEO, guiding Nvidia's mission to shape the future of computing.
