Nvidia, founded in 1993, became a market-cap giant through graphics processors and artificial intelligence chips.
Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem founded Nvidia in 1993. The company first became widely known for graphics processing units, or GPUs, used to render images and video in personal computers and game systems.
GPUs can perform many calculations simultaneously, making them useful beyond graphics. Nvidia’s CUDA software platform helped developers use its hardware for scientific computing and machine learning. That combination became especially important as generative artificial intelligence created enormous demand for data-center computing.
Nvidia is a chip designer rather than a traditional company that owns large semiconductor factories. It relies heavily on foundries, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, to produce chips from its designs. This distinction often causes confusion: Nvidia designs processors, while a foundry manufactures them.