NVIDIA Corporation

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) (pronounced IPA: /ɛnˈvɪdiə/) is a U.S. corporation specializing in the manufacture of graphics processors (graphics processing units, GPUs) technologies for workstations, desktop computers, and handhelds. The company, based in Santa Clara, California, is a major supplier of integrated circuits (ICs) used for personal computer motherboard chipsets, GPUs, and game consoles. NVIDIA's most notable product lines are the GeForce series for gaming and the Quadro series for Professional Workstation Graphics processing, as well as the nForce series of integrated motherboard chipsets.

Company history

The word NVIDIA is a mixture of n —a mathematical variable meaning "to the highest degree"— and video —which comes from Latin videre, "to see"—, implying "the best visual experience."^{[citation needed]} The company name is represented in all caps in company technical documentation, although marketing materials and other collateral are not consistent.

The name NVIDIA suggests "envy" (Spanish envidia or Latin/Italian invidia; furthermore, the GeForce 8 series slogan is "Green with envy") and is also designed to sound like the word video.

It was co-founded in 1993 by Jen-Hsun Huang, the present CEO, Curtis Priem, and Chris Malachowsky.

In 2000 it acquired the intellectual assets of one-time rival 3dfx, one of the biggest graphics companies of the mid to late 1990s.

On December 14th, 2005, NVIDIA acquired ULI Electronics, which at the time was supplying third-party Southbridge parts for chipsets to ATI, NVIDIA's competitor. In March 2006, NVIDIA acquired Hybrid Graphics and on January 5th, 2007, it announced that it had completed the acquisition of PortalPlayer, Inc.

info : wikipedia