Fact 1: The Ingenious Origins of NVIDIA
NVIDIA was established on April 5, 1993 by three seasoned tech practitioners, Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, who all previously worked at Sun Microsystems. It was a well-timed move, as the 90s saw the advent of gaming culture, and they infused their passion for interactive media into creating graphics focused hardware. The moniker 'NVIDIA' is borrowed from a Latin word 'invidia', which translates to 'envy.' It was a deliberate choice, aiming to invoke the envy of their competitors, and admiration among the end-users.
Fact 2: First to Merge 3D and 2D Graphics
NVIDIA's RIVA 128 (Real-time Interactive Video and Animation accelerator) launched in 1997 was the first product in the industry to offer combined 2D and 3D acceleration. This revolutionary design made 3D graphics and animation more accessible and enjoyable at a time when the gaming industry was transitioning from 2D to 3D graphics.
Fact 3: The Birth of the GeForce Series
In 1999, NVIDIA introduced the GeForce 256, the first graphics processing unit (GPU) of the famous GeForce lineup. The release of the GeForce 256 marked the beginning of a new era in the gaming and graphic design industry. Its parallel processing capabilities dramatically increased the speed and efficiency of rendering images, shaping the way we perceive video games and graphics today.
Fact 4: A Guinness World Record Holder
NVIDIA holds a position in the Guinness World Record for designing the world's largest graphics card. This title was bestowed for their 'GeForce GTX SLI', which measures a colossal 11.8 inches by 4.4 inches. This is NVIDIA’s testament to their ambition and innovation in the technology industry.
Fact 5: A Pioneer in AI Hardware
These days, NVIDIA is not only renowned for its graphics processing power but also its advancements in AI hardware. The company's goal is 'to enable everyone to harness AI'. They launched 'DGX-1', the world’s first AI supercomputer in a box in 2016. It was engineered to meet the colossal demands of AI and analytics, with mind-blowing performance, making it a game-changer in the industry.
Fact 6: The Name Behind Popular Games
NVIDIA’s GPUs have been used to create highly popular games like 'Final Fantasy XV' and PUBG. Their technology has helped improve gaming graphics dramatically, making gameplay smoother, more vivid, and lifelike, greatly enhancing the overall gaming experience.
Fact 7: Dedicated to Green Practices
NVIDIA has pledged a commitment to environmentally friendly practices. They have committed to a 20% reduction in their carbon footprint by 2020. They also recycle about 86% of the waste at their Silicon Valley campus, showing how much they care about the environment.
Fact 8: A Hardware Heaven for Film and Animation Industries
The film and animation industries have been hugely reliant on NVIDIA's groundbreaking technologies. Movies such as 'Avatar', 'Monsters University' and 'Wreck-It Ralph' have all utilized NVIDIA’s cutting-edge GPUs to create top-notch animations.
Fact 9: NVIDIA GeForce Now Makes Games Accessible
NVIDIA’s cloud gaming service, ‘GeForce Now’, allows users to play their favorite video games on virtually any device, regardless of the device’s technical specifications. This technology basically turns any device into a gaming powerhouse, redefining the concept of game streaming.
Fact 10: Their Logo has a Deeper Meaning
The NVIDIA logo represents the 'eye' of the graphics revolution. It symbolizes the company's determination to be at the 'eye of the storm' in the rapidly evolving computer graphics industry.
Fact 11: The Inspirational CEO
NVIDIA's co-founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, named as 'America's Most Admired CEO' in 2019, was a passionate computer hobbyist even before founding the tech giant. Huang pushed NVIDIA to test its capabilities beyond gaming, leading NVIDIA to its breakthrough in AI technologies.
Fact 12: NVIDIA’s AI Artist
NVIDIA has developed an AI-based technology, called GauGAN, that can transform simple sketches into stunning, photorealistic images. This technology demonstrates NVIDIA's focus on innovating beyond the gaming sector into creative applications.
Fact 13: Leaps Ahead in Autonomous Vehicles
NVIDIA DRIVE, their proprietary autonomous vehicle technology platform is revolutionizing the transportation industry. Their highly advanced processing units enable next-generation AI-powered vehicles to interpret the road and the environment accurately for safer navigation.
Fact 14: Support for Green Electric Racing
Being environmentally conscious, NVIDIA is a key contributor to the electric racing championship - Formula E. They provide their top-performing GPUs for processing vast amounts of data during these races and enhancing the viewing experience.
Fact 15: The First Teraflop GPU
NVIDIA broke barriers with its 'GeForce 8800' in 2006, the first GPU capable of performing a trillion operations per second, also termed as 'Teraflop' performance. It pushed the edge of what was thought possible and paved the way for future GPU development.
Fact 16: Their AI Predicts Weather and Climate Change
Expanding its AI capabilities, NVIDIA’s AI can predict weather patterns and climate change far more accurately than traditional methods. The AI trains on historical weather data and can forecast environmental changes to aid in early disaster detection and prevention.
Fact 17: NVIDIA Titan V – The Powerhouse
The NVIDIA Titan V, released in 2017, is one of the most powerful GPUs in the world. It's capable of delivering 110 teraflops, nearly nine times the power of its closest predecessor, the Titan Xp.
Fact 18: The AI Playground
To engage and educate the general public about AI, NVIDIA has an 'AI Playground' on its website. Here, users can interact with various AI demos, explore deep learning research, and even upload photos for AI photo editing.
Fact 19: A Miracle in Boxes
NVIDIA's DGX Station is designed to house the processing power of 400 CPUs in a box that fits under your office desk, offering AI researchers unparalleled computational potential right at their fingertips.
Fact 20: An NVIDIA Chip in the Fastest Supercomputer
The world's fastest supercomputer, the Summit, located in the U.S Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, uses NVIDIA’s Volta Tensor Core GPUs. This powerhouse crunches through scientific simulations at an estimated computing power of 200 petaflops, showing NVIDIA's spectacular contribution to high-performance computing.