Nvidia GeForce for Windows Vista 18y Ago
Looking back at NVIDIA 18 years ago 👀
Curious about what NVIDIA looked like 18 years ago and which product was a breakthrough back then? 👀
📽️ I just found a really cool video showcasing the NVIDIA GeForce graphics card for the newly launched Windows Vista! I still remember how stunning it was 🥹
Now, with NVIDIA surpassing Apple in market value and becoming one of the largest companies in the world, it’s the perfect time to look back and appreciate the journey Jensen took to bring the company to where it is today.
NVIDIA’s story is one of innovation, strategic pivots, and remarkable growth — one of the most inspiring examples of our century. Here’s a timeline of key events, developments, and products that have shaped the company’s journey:
Founding and Early Years
➡️1993: Nvidia founded by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem with $40,000 in seed capital (link).
➡️ 1995: Received $20 million in venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital and others.
➡️ 1995: Released NV1, the company’s first graphics chip.
➡️ 1997: Launched RIVA 128, the first high-performance 128-bit 3D processor.
➡️ 1999: Went public at $12 per share, raising $43.75 million (link).
Establishing GPU Leadership
➡️ 1999: Released GeForce 256, marketed as the world’s first GPU.
➡️ 2000: Acquired 3dfx Interactive for $70 million.
➡️ 2001: Selected to replace Enron in the S&P 500 index.
➡️ 2001: Revenue exceeded $1 billion for the first time.
➡️ 2006: Introduced CUDA, enabling general-purpose computing on GPUs.
Diversification and AI Focus
➡️ 2007: Launched Tesla products for scientific computing.
➡️ 2008: Acquired Ageia, developer of PhysX physics engine.
➡️ 2011: Released Tegra mobile processors.
➡️ 2014: Shifted focus to gaming, automotive electronics, and mobile devices.
➡️ 2016: Unveiled Pascal architecture with GTX 1080, boosting AI capabilities.
AI Dominance and Trillion-Dollar Valuation
➡️ 2017: Introduced Volta architecture with Tensor Cores for AI acceleration.
➡️️ 2019: Acquired Mellanox Technologies for $6.9 billion.
➡️ 2020: Announced Ampere GPU architecture.
➡️ 2021: Attempted $40 billion acquisition of Arm (later abandoned).
➡️ 2023: Market cap surpassed $1 trillion, driven by AI boom.
➡️ 2024: Unveiled B200 chip for advanced AI tasks (link).
As of November 5, 2024 Nvidia Corp. became the largest company in the world surpassing Apple Inc. and underscoring just how dominant artificial intelligence has become on Wall Street!
Key Success Factors 🥇
Personally, I believe the founder is the most critical factor in a company’s success. Extraordinary leaders not only bring vision and drive but also have the resilience to navigate challenges, inspire teams, and make bold decisions that shape industries. Many successful companies owe their breakthroughs to visionary leaders who didn’t just follow trends but created them. Just to name a few iconic examples: Apple (Steve Jobs) redefined technology and design; Amazon (Jeff Bezos) revolutionized e-commerce and logistics; Tesla and SpaceX (Elon Musk) pushed the boundaries of sustainable energy and space exploration; Microsoft (Satya Nadella) transformed enterprise technology with a new focus on cloud and AI; Netflix (Reed Hastings) reimagined entertainment for the digital age; Alibaba (Jack Ma) opened up e-commerce in China; Salesforce (Marc Benioff) led the cloud revolution in CRM; Google/Alphabet (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) organized the world’s information; and Facebook/Meta (Mark Zuckerberg) reshaped how we connect and communicate globally.
These leaders, including Jensen Huang, have been instrumental in driving innovation, making bold pivots, and building cultures that empower their teams to think big. Their impact is a testament to the power of visionary leadership in building companies that last.
What else was important?
The product must obviously be stellar, and there should be market demand, even if it isn’t fully developed yet.
Early focus on specialized graphics processing and continuous innovation in GPU technology.
The strategic pivot to AI and deep learning applications as well as a strong developer ecosystem and CUDA platform was also a good move.
When you proves your product-market-fit the diversification into multiple high-growth markets is a way to go to scale globally.
What’s next? 🤔
• The plan is to continue the dominance in AI chip market (currently 80% market share).
• Expansion in automotive, robotics, metaverse technologies and other markets.
• There will be potential challenges from competitors and in-house chip development by major tech companies. They are already out there thinking how to compete:
AMD: 2nd player in terms of market valuation
Intel: CPU market leader playing catch up in GPUs
Amazon: Steps Up Effort to Rival Nvidia in AI Chip Market
GCP: Hyperscaler with its Trillium chips
Groq: For fast LLM inference
SambaNova Systems & Cerebras Systems: High capacity hardware solutions for research labs & Fortune 500.
It’s an incredibly exciting time for NVIDIA. As they continue to push the boundaries of innovation we’re all eager to see what groundbreaking developments they bring next. With a legacy of visionary leadership and bold advancements, NVIDIA’s journey forward is sure to be one to watch. Stay tuned — big things are coming!
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