NVIDIA
NVIDIA is an American technology company specializing in graphics processing units (GPUs), accelerated computing, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1993 by [[jensen-huang]], [[chris-malachowsky]], and [[curtis-priem]][^c7], the company invented the GPU in 1999, which "sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined computer graphics, and ignited the era of modern AI"[^c1]. By 2025, NVIDIA had grown into the world's most valuable semiconductor company, surpassing a $4 trillion market capitalization[^c2], reaching approximately $4.7 trillion by February 2026[^c18] and $5.7 trillion by May 2026 — a valuation exceeding Germany's projected GDP[^c22], holding an estimated 92% of the data center GPU market[^c6]. As of January 2026, NVIDIA employed 42,000 people worldwide[^c17].
The company's core businesses include data center computing, gaming graphics, professional visualization, automotive platforms, and robotics. The CUDA software platform, introduced in 2006 and celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, created an ecosystem that "creates a formidable 'lock-in' effect"[^c3] with over 6 million developers worldwide[^c15]. The [[ai-enterprise]] software platform reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in 2023[^c8]. For fiscal year 2025, NVIDIA reported record revenue of $130.5 billion[^c4], followed by fiscal year 2026 revenue of $215.9 billion, up 65%[^c9]. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company posted record revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85% year-over-year[^c23], with Data Center revenue reaching $75.2 billion. Concurrently, NVIDIA restructured its financial reporting into two segments — Data Center and Edge Computing — consolidating its Gaming, Professional Visualization, and automotive revenue lines into a $6.4 billion Edge Computing segment[^c27][^c34]. The board authorized an $80 billion share buyback program and raised the quarterly dividend from $0.01 to $0.25 per share[^c33].
NVIDIA has expanded beyond chip design into data center networking, autonomous vehicle platforms, industrial digital twins, humanoid robotics, space computing, quantum computing, and enterprise AI agent infrastructure. At GTC 2026, the company announced a combined Blackwell and Vera Rubin purchase order pipeline targeting $1 trillion through 2027[^c10], previewed the Feynman architecture for 2028[^c13], unveiled the Ising family of open AI models for quantum computing[^c19], launched the NemoClaw platform for enterprise AI agents[^c20], and entered space computing with orbital data center platforms[^c21]. In optical networking, NVIDIA partnered with Corning in a multiyear agreement to expand US manufacturing of optical connectivity solutions[^c11], including a $500 million investment[^c14]. In December 2025, NVIDIA executed a $20 billion licensing and talent acquisition deal with [[groq]], acquiring its LPU inference technology and engineering team[^c16]. On the geopolitical front, the US authorized H200 chip sales to approximately ten Chinese companies[^c12], while CEO Jensen Huang joined President Trump's delegation to China for negotiations over AI chip exports.
In May 2026, NVIDIA declared the arrival of "the era of useful AI," with Huang stating that "What took months now takes weeks. What took weeks now takes days"[^c26] as agentic AI workloads drove accelerating demand. At COMPUTEX 2026 in June, Huang confirmed that the [[blackwell-rubin|Vera Rubin]] platform was in full production with a supply chain twice as large as Grace Blackwell, reducing rack assembly time from two hours to five minutes[^c31]. NVIDIA launched the Vera CPU, a processor purpose-built for AI agents, and entered the consumer PC market with the RTX Spark superchip (developed with MediaTek) for Windows-on-Arm laptops[^c28]. The company also announced Cosmos 3, an open world foundation model for physical AI, and Nebius launched the Physical AI Living Lab, a six-month program providing European robotics startups with access to NVIDIA's physical AI development tools including Cosmos, Isaac Sim, and Isaac Lab[^c35].
On June 4, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren invited Jensen Huang to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on June 11 regarding NVIDIA's compliance with US export control laws and its business in China[^c29]. The following day, a broad semiconductor selloff erased approximately $1.3 trillion in market value, with NVIDIA losing more than $300 billion in market capitalization, triggered by Broadcom's weak earnings and amplified by strong US jobs data and the announcement of the Senate hearing[^c30]. Later that week, NVIDIA director Mark Stevens sold 500,000 shares worth approximately $110 million, a 7.25% reduction in his position[^c32].
NVIDIA is led by founder and CEO Jensen Huang, who has served as president and chief executive since its founding. Huang is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received the Robert N. Noyce Award, the Semiconductor Industry Association's highest honor[^c5].