From Silicon Valley Startup to AI Powerhouse: Nvidia’s Storied History

Hey guys! Have you ever built your own PC? If yes, you would know about GPU, and you had to do great research to find the one that suits you. If not, I will help you understand GPU and Nvidia.

    

What is GPU?

GPU stands for Graphical Processing Unit. It helps your computer in graphics-related work.  It basically works by parallel processing. It means doing a job in parts simultaneously. So, what is the difference between CPU and GPU? By reading the differences you would get more idea about GPU.

CPU vs GPU 

You all know that the CPU is the brain of the computer. If I give a task to the CPU, it does that task in the given sequential order. In that code, you find some part of the code can be applied anytime, irrespective of the order. GPU breaks these and executes them simultaneously (Parallel processing).

Also, check this Nvidia video about CPU vs GPU

Check this video

Now, let's discuss about Nvidia.

NVIDIA's early years

Do you know the leather coat guy who is also referred to as Taylor Swift of Silicon Valley? It is JENSEN HUANG. The founder and C.E.O of Nvidia. He was just a Taiwanese American boy with big hopes.

He joined AMD and LSI and acquired great knowledge. He founded Nvidia in 1993 with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Preim in a restaurant in which he is a former employee.

During the late 1990s, Nvidia was one of 70 startup companies pursuing the idea that graphics acceleration for video games was the path to the future. That became the stepping stone for Nvidia's success.

*Fun Fact: Nvidia means envy in Latin.

CUDA Technology - The Game Changer

So, what is CUDA? CUDA stands for Compute Unified Device Architecture. Let me ask you a question: Why do we need to focus on GPUS if some of us are not gamers? Nvidia changed that perspective. This technology revolutionised the GPU market, making Nvidia the GPU "King." 

This CUDA technology helps your computer use your GPU for other work. This made researchers and analysts' favourite GPU. Many tasks have become faster and more reliable. This is the reason why Nvidia had crazy growth.

AI

Very small subheading right? Due to the evolution of AI in recent years, many AI labs bought Nvidia chips to train their models. This made Nvidia stocks go so high that nobody imagined. 

As Haung stated recently "AI is no longer about perception; it is about creation."

*Fun Fact: Las Vegas Sphere uses the Nvidia RTX A6000 GPUs

  

At the end of 2024, Nvidia became the most evaluated company and joined the family of surpassing the $3 trillion market cap with Apple and Microsoft.

Nvidia had a greater impact on our lives. XYZ AI model created using lower-end GPUs cannot change the fate of Nvidia but it just slowed the rate of growth for a little time.