Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem.
The three founders established the company in Santa Clara, California, with the goal of developing specialized graphics hardware. Jensen Huang became chief executive, a position he has held since Nvidia’s founding. The company’s name was inspired partly by the Latin word “invidia,” meaning envy.
Nvidia first became widely known for graphics processing units, or GPUs, used in personal computers and video games. Its technology later became central to professional visualization, scientific computing, cryptocurrency mining, and artificial-intelligence systems. That expansion helped transform Nvidia from a graphics-chip specialist into one of the world’s most valuable technology companies.
The founding year is sometimes confused with the launch of Nvidia’s first major products. The company was created in 1993, while its early graphics processors appeared later. Nvidia went public in 1999, six years after it was founded.