• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechNvidia

Nvidia Places Its Bets on Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 5, 2016, 5:32 PM ET
Inside The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show
Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks during the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Nvidia is betting that its computer graphics smarts will help it make a name for itself in virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang explained how the chip-maker plans to capitalize on the hot technologies, which he said have both experienced significant advancements in recent years.

With new virtual reality headsets from Facebook (FB) and HTC (HTC) finally available to buy, analysts expect steady growth over the next few years as these new technologies mature in the marketplace. At the same time, advancements in artificial intelligence have made it possible for companies to train thousands of computers to better recognize images and speech to make decisions more quickly than just a decade ago.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Huang explained during Nvidia’s (NVDA) annual hardware conference in San Jose how the company’s graphics processing units are used to power both AI and VR, and announced new products aimed at companies looking to build upon those technologies.

He detailed a new video rendering technology called Iray VR, which he said will improve the way 360 degree video displays on virtual reality headsets. Professionals ranging from architects to auto makers will be able use the technology, available in June, to create photo-realistic designs more quickly. This will help in rendering 360 degree imagery like building interiors and car models on virtual reality headsets.

“This is no different than Pixar rendering a film,” Huang said.

Huang also explained how Nvidia is working with NASA and the media company Fusion on an upcoming virtual reality recreation of the planet Mars’ surface.

During Huang’s speech, Apple (AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak appeared on a big screen to show off how he, wearing an HTC Vive VR headset, was able to virtually visit the red, barren landscape of Mars while driving a rover.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak experiencing Mars in virtual reality during Nvidia event.

Huang then turned his attention to artificial intelligence, detailing a new GPU designed specifically for the task of deep learning, which companies like Google and Facebook have popularized in recent years through their experiments in training computers to recognize objects like cats within images.

Big cloud computing companies like Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) will get access to the new GPU first, followed by business technology giants like Dell and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), that will roll out servers based on the GPUs by the first quarter of 2017, Huang said.

For companies that don’t want to wait until the servers come out or don’t want to use a cloud provider for their deep learning experiments, Nvidia will also sell a supercomputer that Huang said has the power of “250 servers in a box.” As of now, only select universities like MIT, University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford will have access to the supercomputers. The machine will cost a hefty $129,000 when it hits the market in June, said Huang.

Curiously, Huang said little about new video games being developed to take advantage of its graphics chips. Nvidia generally leads other chip-makers like AMD (AMD) and Intel (INTC) when it comes to selling graphics chips that suit the needs of gamers.

For more about virtual reality, watch:

Judging from Huang’s speech, it’s clear the company believes that it’s not just video game fanatics that will be big drivers of company sales for the future. The company believes that as VR gains more steam, more professionals will be inclined to use the technology. Additionally, Nvidia is hoping that it’s AI-tailored chips will give it an advantage in the data center market, in which Intel currently dominates.

Still, Nvidia has a long way to go to catch up with Intel.

Intel’s data center business alone made $4.31 billion in its fourth quarter, while Nvidia’s data center tailored-chips took in $97 million sales for the company’s fourth quarter.

But if more companies decide that Nvidia is the way to go when it comes to artificial intelligence, and analysts say it’s still early in business adoption, there’s a lot of room in the market for Nvidia to potentially grab.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Right before Trump named Warsh to lead the Fed, Powell seemed to respond to some of his biggest complaints about the central bank
By Jason MaJanuary 30, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Top engineers at Anthropic, OpenAI say AI now writes 100% of their code—with big implications for the future of software development jobs
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 29, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

The founder and CEO of $1.25 billion AI identity verification platform Incode, Ricardo Amper
SuccessGen Z
CEO of $1.25 billion AI company says he hires Gen Z because they’re ‘less biased’ than older generations—too much knowledge is actually bad, he warns
By Emma BurleighFebruary 1, 2026
5 minutes ago
Several pictures of people receiving medical treatments including a facelift and oxygen therapy.
HealthSuper Bowl
Hims and Hers Super Bowl ad highlights ‘uncomfortable truth’ about elite healthcare for the rich and ‘broken’ system for the rest
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 1, 2026
35 minutes ago
Elon Musk sits with his hands on his knees in front of a blue "World Economic Forum" background.
Economythe future of work
Musk’s fantasy for a future where work is optional just got more real: UK minister calls for universal basic income to cushion AI-related job losses
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 1, 2026
1 hour ago
Startups & VentureOpenAI
Nvidia CEO signals investment in OpenAI round may be largest yet
By Debby Wu and BloombergJanuary 31, 2026
10 hours ago
Startups & VentureVenture Capital
Silicon Valley legend Kleiner Perkins was written off. Then an unlikely VC showed up
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 31, 2026
15 hours ago
AIData Security
Moltbook, a social network where AI agents hang together, may be ‘the most interesting place on the internet right now’
By Jason MaJanuary 31, 2026
16 hours ago