Jumping to 1994 3dfx voodoo cards

 I was researching NVIDIA, and it seems so long ago that 3dfx was the king of 3D accelerator video cards.  It was the bomb, and I'm glad NVIDIA grabbed them up and pushed forward.   Not NVIDIA was started in 1993, and 3dfx in 1994.   

NVIDIA history:

NVIDIA Corporation, founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, is a leading American technology company known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Here's a brief history of NVIDIA:

Early Years and Founding (1993-1999)

• 1993: NVIDIA was founded in Santa Clara, California, with a focus on developing graphics processing technology.
• 1995: The company launched its first product, the NV1, a multimedia accelerator that integrated 2D and 3D graphics, audio, and I/O functions.
• 1999: NVIDIA introduced the GeForce 256, considered the world's first GPU, revolutionizing computer graphics by offloading intensive graphics processing tasks from the CPU.

Growth and Expansion (2000-2010)

• 2000: NVIDIA went public, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol NVDA.
• 2002: The company acquired 3dfx, a pioneer in 3D graphics technology.
• 2006: NVIDIA released the CUDA parallel computing platform, enabling developers to use GPUs for general-purpose processing tasks.
• 2007: The Tesla product line was introduced, aimed at high-performance computing and scientific calculations.

AI and Autonomous Vehicles (2010-2020)

• 2012: NVIDIA unveiled the Kepler GPU architecture, which offered significant performance and energy efficiency improvements.
• 2014: The company launched the Maxwell GPU architecture, further enhancing efficiency and performance.
• 2016: NVIDIA announced the Pascal architecture and the Tesla P100 GPU, targeting deep learning and AI workloads.
• 2018: The company introduced the Turing architecture, featuring real-time ray tracing capabilities and AI-driven enhancements.

Recent Developments (2020-Present)

• 2020: NVIDIA announced plans to acquire Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion, aiming to expand its reach into the CPU market and strengthen its AI capabilities.
• 2021: The company launched the Ampere architecture and the GeForce RTX 30 series, setting new benchmarks in gaming and AI performance.
• 2022: NVIDIA continued to innovate in AI and data center technologies, with advancements in its A100 and H100 Tensor Core GPUs.

Contributions and Impact

• NVIDIA has been a key player in the development of modern graphics technology, contributing to advancements in gaming, professional visualization, data centers, and AI.
• The company's GPUs are widely used in various industries, including automotive, healthcare, finance, and scientific research, for tasks ranging from autonomous driving to deep learning.

Summary

NVIDIA's history is marked by continuous innovation and leadership in GPU technology, with significant contributions to AI and high-performance computing. From its early days in multimedia accelerators to its current role in powering AI and autonomous systems, NVIDIA has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible in technology