NVIDIA Corporation

▪ global corporation

      global corporation that manufactures graphics processors, mobile technologies, and desktop computers. The company was founded in 1993 by three American computer scientists, Jen-Hsun Huang, Curtis Priem, and Christopher Malachowsky. NVIDIA is known for developing integrated circuits (integrated circuit), which are used in everything from electronic game consoles to personal computers (personal computer) (PCs). The company is a leading manufacturer of high-end graphics processing units (GPUs). NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.

      NVIDIA became a major force in the computer gaming industry with the launch of the RIVA series of graphics processors in 1997. Two years later, the company gained prominence with the release of the GeForce 256 GPU, which offered superior three-dimensional graphics quality. NVIDIA battled with prominent video card maker 3dfx Interactive, pitting the GeForce against 3dfx Interactive's popular Voodoo technologies. NVIDIA eventually prevailed and purchased 3dfx Interactive's remaining assets in 2000. That same year, Microsoft Corporation selected NVIDIA to develop graphics cards for Microsoft's long-awaited Xbox video game console. In 2007, NVIDIA was honoured as Company of the Year by Forbes magazine for its rapid growth and success.

      In addition to products for the computer gaming industry, NVIDIA's extensive array of computing technologies includes the Quadro series of video cards for professional graphics, the Tegra series for cellular phones, the nForce series for multimedia functions, and the Tesla series for high-end business and scientific-research computers.

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