Nvidia makes the H100 AI accelerator and was founded by Jensen Huang in 1993. Its market value surged as investors recognized the importance of its graphics processors and software for training and running artificial-intelligence systems.
Huang founded Nvidia with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. The company initially focused on graphics hardware for personal computers and gaming. Its CUDA platform, introduced in 2006, enabled developers to use Nvidia GPUs for general-purpose parallel computing.
The H100 is based on Nvidia’s Hopper architecture and is designed for demanding data-center workloads. Nvidia also supplies networking products and software, so its business is broader than consumer graphics cards alone.
A frequent mix-up is treating Nvidia as a chip manufacturer in the same way as a foundry. Nvidia designs chips, while companies such as TSMC manufacture many of them. Market capitalization reflects the value investors assign to Nvidia’s entire business.