CES Trade Show Kicks Off with Nvidia’s Vision for a Future Tech World
At the packed CES trade show in Las Vegas on Monday, Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang took the stage to announce a raft of new chips, software, and services aimed at staying at the forefront of artificial intelligence computing. The company’s products and strategy were presented to an audience of hundreds for over 90 minutes, including tie-ups with Toyota Motor Corp. and MediaTek Inc.
Nvidia’s Products and Strategy
Interest in Nvidia’s products and Huang’s forecasts has exploded as companies rush to deploy new AI computing gear. The CEO outlined the company’s vision for a future tech world with a billion humanoid robots, 10 million automated factories, and 1.5 billion self-driving cars and trucks. Nvidia wants its products to be at the heart of this future, driving innovation and growth across industries.
New GeForce GPUs: A Leap Forward in Graphics Processing
Before delving into data center technology, Huang offered an update on traditional graphics processing units (GPUs) – a core audience for the company. The new GeForce 50 series cards will take advantage of Blackwell’s capabilities to create even more realistic experiences for computer gamers. Unlike traditional graphics chips, which build an image by calculating the shade of each pixel in the picture, the new technology leans heavily on AI to anticipate what the next frame should look like.
"GeForce allowed AI to reach the masses, and now AI is coming home to GeForce," Huang said during the presentation. The flagship RTX 5090 model will be available later this month for $1,999, with less powerful cards following in February. The RTX 5070, costing $549, will debut in February with better performance than the prior range’s top model, the RTX 4090.
Data Center Operation: A New Era of Growth
As recently as 2022, gaming was Nvidia’s biggest source of sales. However, its data center operation is now far larger and on course to contribute more than $100 billion this year. The company’s accelerator chips are prized by the world’s largest tech companies, driving growth in this area.
Expansion into New Markets: Autonomous Driving and Robotics
Nvidia has announced partnerships with Toyota, the world’s biggest vehicle maker, and Uber Technologies Inc. to develop self-driving technology. The millions of trips that Uber handles daily will provide a trove of data for training AI models. Mass-market carmakers are shifting toward using one computer and operating system for their entire model lineup, rather than segmenting systems by class of vehicle.
Nvidia Cosmos: A Platform for Smarter Robots and Autonomous Vehicles
The company has created Nvidia Cosmos to help make robots smarter and produce fully autonomous vehicles. This technology is able to create video from inputs such as text. That video then becomes the basis of virtual training, reducing dependence on expensive and time-consuming real-world experimentation.
Project Digits: A New Era in AI Development
Nvidia is also offering a desktop PC called Project Digits, which will equip developers with hardware capable of running very large AI models. The small $3,000 device features a single Grace Blackwell Superchip – a combination of central processor and graphics semiconductor – working with a large chunk of memory and fast connectivity.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Nvidia has partnered with Taiwan’s MediaTek to develop the new machines, which will run a version of the Linux operating system. These devices are designed to help AI developers work locally when either connecting to the cloud or using conventional computers isn’t practical or possible.
Conclusion
Nvidia’s announcement at CES marks an exciting milestone in the company’s journey to advance artificial intelligence computing. With its new chips, software, and services, Nvidia is well-positioned to drive growth across industries and shape the future of tech.
