Nvidia designed the GeForce graphics processors that helped make it a leading semiconductor company by market value.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. The company initially focused on graphics processing units, or GPUs, which accelerate the creation of images and video. Its GeForce brand became especially important in personal-computer gaming.
GPUs also proved useful for parallel mathematical calculations. That capability made them important in scientific computing, machine learning, and artificial-intelligence systems. Nvidia’s CUDA software platform helped developers use the company’s hardware for more than conventional graphics.
The company’s market value surged as demand for data-center accelerators increased. A common mix-up is treating Nvidia as a computer manufacturer: Nvidia primarily designs chips and platforms, while manufacturing is largely carried out by semiconductor foundries such as TSMC.