Nvidia introduced the GeForce 256 in 1999 as the first graphics processor marketed as a GPU.
Nvidia announced the GeForce 256 in August 1999 and released it later that year. The product used the term “graphics processing unit” to describe a processor designed to handle substantial 3D graphics work. Nvidia’s marketing helped popularize GPU as a standard technology term.
The GeForce 256 included hardware features such as transformation and lighting, which reduced some graphics workload on the central processing unit. It targeted computer games and 3D applications during a period when graphics accelerators were rapidly advancing.
The word “first” can be misunderstood because earlier companies had already produced graphics accelerators and 3D chips. Nvidia’s claim concerns the introduction and marketing of the GPU designation, not the invention of all graphics hardware. Nvidia later expanded into data-center computing, artificial intelligence, and automotive technology.