Nvidia introduced the GeForce 256 in 1999 and later became central to the artificial-intelligence chip boom.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. The company helped popularize graphics processing units, or GPUs, which were first associated mainly with computer graphics and video games. Nvidia called the GeForce 256 the world’s first GPU when it launched in 1999.
Researchers later discovered that GPUs were highly effective for the parallel calculations used in machine learning. Nvidia developed the CUDA software platform, released in 2007, allowing programmers to use its GPUs for general-purpose computing. That ecosystem became a major competitive advantage in AI infrastructure.
The surge in demand for data-center accelerators drove extraordinary investor interest and made Nvidia one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization. Its market value remains sensitive to AI spending, chip supply, and competition.