Nvidia: From Humble Beginnings to Gaming Greatness

The Early Days of Nvidia

Picture this: It’s the early 90s, a time when ideas were big but the technologies were still finding their feet. Jensen Huang, along with his buddies Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, embarked on an epic journey to create a company — Nvidia. Now, when they started, even Jensen’s mom probably would have wondered if they were crazy. A mission statement that seemed more like a prank than a plan? Check! But hey, Sega’s CEO thought Jensen was a nice young chap, and well, that’s all the endorsement you need, right?

Gaming, AI, and a Whole Lot of Nostalgia

Fast-forward over three decades, and here we are, with Nvidia sitting at a staggering $5 trillion valuation (seriously, how do we even comprehend that?). Jensen recently had a heart-to-heart with podcaster extraordinaire Joe Rogan, reminiscing about the good ol’ days while marveling at how they went from no graphics to *graphics gone wild* — a metamorphosis powered by that little thing called AI. Imagine if AI was born out of a longing to make video game graphics look snazzy? It’s kind of bonkers, when you wrap your head around it!

So let’s rewind to the past. Nvidia started as a small band of engineers hoping to carve a niche by creating a new type of computing architecture. The big question was, what would be their killer app? Gaming graphics! But, spoiler alert, back in ’93 the existing apps could be handled by humble, run-of-the-mill computers. Talk about setting up a mission statement for failure!

As they reminisced, Jensen mentioned, “The early applications available in 1993 were totally doable by regular computers. So here we were, shooting for the stars without a telescope!” Oh, the irony!

While looking for their way into the 3D world, they caught Sega’s attention with ideas that made 3D graphics a thrilling reality. Initially, it was a playful introduction, where Sega was tipping their hat to the NV1, Nvidia’s first GPU. That tiny bit of recognition led to the breathtaking world of graphics we adore today.

Jensen recalls how crucial that partnership with Sega was. With Sega’s investment, it felt like they had struck gold, even though they were swimming in deep waters. “$5 million was a mountain at the time!” he said. The stakes were high, and the pressure was on, but Sega’s CEO believed in the gang, and they took their leap of faith.

Then came the NV2 prototype — Nvidia’s ambitious second shot. Although it didn’t make the cut for Sega’s Dreamcast, they learned, adapted, and eventually churned out the Riva 128 chip. Jensen proudly reflected, “We took the gaming world by storm with our focus!” And boy, did they deliver! With Nvidia now ruling a whopping 92% of the discrete GPU market, those early fumbles have become the foundation for a colossal gaming empire.

As our chat wraps up, I can’t help but chuckle at how far we’ve come from the days of jittery graphics on our screens to HD wonders and AI-driven experiences. And hey, I still fondly remember my first graphics cards, like the Rage Pro and Voodoo — they paved the way for the tech we gobble up today!