NVIDIA awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999.

Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and portable media players to notebooks and workstations. NVIDIA’s expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. The company holds more than 1,100 U.S. patents, including ones covering designs and insights fundamental to modern computing.

With demand for GPUs continuing to grow strongly, NVIDIA has developed five product brands to meet the needs of specific market segments:

• Tegra revolutionizes mobile computing. A complex system-on-a-chip with eight specialized processors, it consumes 50 times less power than the average PC notebook chip. It fuels the new generation of tablets, smartphones, portable media players and in-car driver safety/assist/infotainment systems.

• ION supercharges a netbook. It delivers rich HD media in games, movies, and Web-based video, as well as provides full support for Windows Home Premium. ION is complemented by NVIDIA Optimus technology, described below.

• GeForce accelerates consumer desktop PCs and notebooks.  Our best-known product line, it delivers crisp performance for those who play games, watch movies, or use the PC for other forms of digital entertainment.

• Quadro is the driving force behind powerful workstations. It’s used by animators, broadcasters, visual effects artists and industrial designers to help create and visualize their largest, most complex projects.  The majority of the world’s cars and planes, as well as an array of consumer products, are designed using Quadro professional graphics solutions.

• Tesla is transforming the world of supercomputing.  By using the GPU’s parallel processing capabilities, it delivers massive performance for scientists and researchers needing the power of a supercomputer, but at a fraction of its cost and power consumption.

NVIDIA has also introduced a number of important technologies:

• 3D Vision incorporates specialized shutter-glasses and software that enable immersive 3D visualization for games, video, photos, and Blu-ray 3D.

• SLI harnesses the power of multiple GPUs on a single motherboard to deliver a high-resolution gaming experience.

• Optimus allows notebook power-savings by seamlessly routing the graphics workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or integrated graphics, resulting in improved battery life and performance.

• PhysX is a graphics engine which replicates in real-time the dynamic that the forces of nature – such as gravity and motion – has on physical objects. It is available on all gaming platforms including the PC, game consoles, and the iPhone.

We are particularly proud of CUDA, our parallel computing architecture, which enables GPUs to work with numerical data, as well as the geometry and pixels of an image.