Chapter 1
The Denny's bet
Chapter 2
The accidental AI revolution
Chapter 3
The trillion-dollar engine
Chapter 4
The geopolitics of silicon
Ch 1 · The Denny's bet
nic Nvidia's Near-Death Survival
With thirty days of cash, Sega threw a line (they threw a line) / They built the RIVA chip with no prototype (no prototype)
nic On January 25, 1993, Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem used $40,000 to envision specialized 3D graphics hardware.
Quiz
Which diner chain hosted the late-night brainstorming sessions where Nvidia's founders first sketched out their ideas?
Quiz
In what year did Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem incorporate Nvidia in Sunnyvale, California?
nic Unlike single-task CPUs, graphics processors run thousands of complex financial algorithms at once.
Quiz
Why are graphics computations particularly suited for parallel processing over sequential processing?
Quiz
What major architectural difference distinguishes an Nvidia GPU from a traditional central processing unit (CPU)?
Fun Fact
Nvidia's name origin: The name 'Nvidia' comes from 'invidia,' the Latin word for envy, combined with 'NV' for next vision.
Quiz
Released in 1999, which Nvidia microchip was officially marketed as the world's first "Graphics Processing Unit" (GPU)?
Quiz
What major mathematical graphics task did the GeForce 256 offload from the computer's CPU?
Glossary
diner (noun)
A small, informal restaurant that typically serves American-style food. In 1993, three engineers met at a San Jose diner to plan their new chip company.
A small, informal restaurant that typically serves American-style food. In 1993, three engineers met at a San Jose diner to plan their new chip company.
Quiz
Which legendary video game company saved a struggling Nvidia from bankruptcy in 1995 by letting them keep a contract payment?
Quiz
What was the name of Nvidia's first multimedia card, released in 1995, which nearly bankrupt the company?