The Birth of NVIDIA: A Look Back at its 1993 Founding

On this day, three microprocessor developers, Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, registered their company.

All three came together to develop a new type of device: graphics processors. In the early 1990s, it became obvious that 3D was becoming popular and in demand in games and professional programs. Rendering is a complex computational process. According to the opinion of the three founders of the company, a separate device is needed for 3D rendering.

Where did the name come from?

The founders of the company chose the name for quite a long time. There are several versions of where NVIDIA came from. NV means “next version” — developers reportedly used this abbreviation in their documents and files. Huang, Malachowsky, and Priem wanted to name the company NVision, since the main result of their products is visualization. But this name was already taken by a toilet paper manufacturer. After that, the founders found the Latin word “invidia” (envy). From another source: they had taken the word “idea,” but it did not sound good according to the co-founders, so one letter was replaced.

Today

Today, NVIDIA is one of the most expensive companies in the world. The graphics processors and technologies it developed are used to a lesser extent for presenting 3D. These technologies and devices are used for blockchain and artificial intelligence. Considering these areas attract billions of dollars of investment every year, a significant part of it goes to NVIDIA.

See also The Birth of Python: A Look Back at Its 1991 Public Release.