Nvidia's meteoric rise to $3 trillion | About That

Summary

Over the past decade, NVIDIA has emerged as a formidable player in the tech industry, surpassing giants like Apple and Microsoft to become the world's second most valuable company. Originally known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) used in gaming, NVIDIA revolutionized its technology to excel in AI and scientific computing. This shift, driven by CEO Jensen Huang, led to the creation of AI supercomputers and GPUs that accelerated deep learning and AI research. As a result, NVIDIA now dominates the AI chip market, with its GPUs crucial for innovations ranging from AI models like ChatGPT to scientific simulations and drug discovery.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Nvidia has emerged as a strong contender in the battle for the most valuable company in the U.S.
• 🕹️ Nvidia was primarily known for its GPUs, which transformed gaming graphics.
• 📈 The company's stock remained flat for decades until a pivotal idea by CEO Jensen Huang.
• 🔍 Jensen Huang envisioned using GPUs for more than just graphics, aiming for complex scientific calculations.
• ⚡ The idea was to combine GPUs with CPUs, creating a supercharged processing power for efficient parallel processing.
• 💡 This innovation led to the development of AI supercomputers, significantly accelerating AI research.
• ⛏️ Bitcoin miners were early adopters of Nvidia's GPUs due to their high processing power.
• 🤖 Nvidia's AI supercomputers became crucial for training AI models, exemplified by their partnership with OpenAI.
• 💥 The popularity of AI models like ChatGPT drove a massive demand for Nvidia's GPUs, skyrocketing their share price.
• 🌍 Nvidia's GPUs are now used in various fields, from drug discovery to climate modeling, highlighting their wide-ranging impact.

Q & A

What has been the recent development in the competition among the most valuable companies in the U.S.?

A new challenger, NVIDIA, has emerged, surpassing Apple and threatening Microsoft's position as the most valuable company.

What product does NVIDIA primarily sell?

NVIDIA primarily sells GPUs (Graphics Processing Units).

How did NVIDIA become so valuable seemingly out of nowhere?

NVIDIA's GPUs, originally known for gaming, found new applications in areas like AI, scientific research, and cryptocurrency mining, significantly boosting the company's value.

What was NVIDIA originally known for?

NVIDIA was originally known for transforming video game graphics with their GPUs, making gaming visuals much more realistic and immersive.

What idea did NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang have to expand the use of GPUs?

Jensen Huang had the idea to develop a software platform that allowed GPUs to work with CPUs, greatly enhancing processing power for various applications beyond gaming.

How did the cryptocurrency industry initially benefit from NVIDIA's technology?

Bitcoin miners used NVIDIA graphics cards to create mining rigs, taking advantage of the GPUs' parallel processing capabilities to mine cryptocurrencies more efficiently.

What was the significance of the DGX-1 supercomputer developed by NVIDIA?

The DGX-1 supercomputer, combining eight of NVIDIA's GPUs, was pivotal in advancing AI research by providing unprecedented processing power for training deep-learning models.

Which notable AI company did NVIDIA collaborate with early on?

NVIDIA collaborated with OpenAI, providing them with a prototype of their AI supercomputer, which played a significant role in advancing AI technologies like ChatGPT.

How did the emergence of ChatGPT impact NVIDIA's market position?

The success of ChatGPT and similar AI technologies demonstrated the immense potential of NVIDIA's GPUs in AI, leading to a surge in demand and a significant increase in NVIDIA's share price.

What broader impact is NVIDIA's technology expected to have on various industries?

NVIDIA's technology is being used to simulate cell reactions for drug discovery, create earth replicas for climate change predictions, and train AI models, indicating its potential to revolutionize multiple fields.

What market share does NVIDIA currently hold in the AI chip market?

NVIDIA controls approximately 90% of the AI chip market, far ahead of its competitors.

Why are NVIDIA's AI chips considered valuable despite their high cost?

NVIDIA's AI chips offer unparalleled processing power and efficiency for training AI models, justifying their high prices and making them essential for companies investing in AI research and development.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Unveiling the New Contender

Andrew discusses the decade-long competition among four major U.S. companies to be the most valuable. He introduces a new challenger, NVIDIA, which has recently surged in value due to its GPUs, a crucial component in gaming and now in various high-demand applications.

05:00

🚀 The Rise of GPU Mining

Andrew explains how NVIDIA's GPUs, initially known for enhancing gaming experiences, found new applications in scientific calculations and cryptocurrency mining. Jensen Wong, NVIDIA's CEO, envisioned GPUs being used beyond graphics, leading to the development of a software platform that leverages both CPUs and GPUs for enhanced processing power.

🧠 NVIDIA's AI Revolution

NVIDIA's breakthrough came when they created the DGS-1 AI supercomputer, which they presented to researchers, including those at OpenAI. This marked the beginning of NVIDIA's dominance in AI, with their GPUs being pivotal in training AI models like ChatGPT, leading to a significant rise in the company's value and influence in the AI industry.

Keywords

💡NVIDIA

NVIDIA is a technology company known for its graphics processing units (GPUs). In the video, NVIDIA's role in transforming gaming graphics and its innovative leap into AI technology are highlighted. NVIDIA's GPUs, initially used for enhancing video game graphics, became pivotal in AI and scientific computations, leading the company to become one of the most valuable in the world.

💡GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

A GPU is a specialized processor designed to accelerate graphics rendering. In the video, GPUs are shown as essential for creating detailed and smooth video game graphics. NVIDIA's GPUs are also adapted for parallel processing tasks, making them valuable for AI and scientific research, thus expanding their application beyond gaming.

💡AI Supercomputer

An AI supercomputer is a highly powerful computing system designed to handle complex AI computations. The video describes NVIDIA's creation of an AI supercomputer using multiple GPUs to significantly enhance processing power, allowing researchers to train AI models more efficiently. This innovation played a crucial role in advancing AI technology.

💡Deep Learning

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning involving neural networks with many layers. The video discusses how deep learning algorithms, powered by NVIDIA's GPUs, revolutionized AI by processing vast amounts of data. This technology enabled breakthroughs like OpenAI's ChatGPT, which relies on deep learning to understand and generate human-like text.

💡ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI model developed by OpenAI that generates human-like text based on given prompts. The video highlights ChatGPT as an example of generative AI that utilizes NVIDIA's GPUs for training. ChatGPT's rapid adoption underscores the transformative potential of AI technologies powered by advanced GPUs.

💡Parallel Processing

Parallel processing is a method where multiple processors execute or process an application or computation simultaneously. The video emphasizes how NVIDIA's GPUs excel at parallel processing, making them suitable for both graphics rendering and scientific calculations. This capability allowed NVIDIA to innovate and dominate in the AI market.

💡Jensen Huang

Jensen Huang is the CEO of NVIDIA and a key figure in the company's success. The video credits Huang with envisioning the broader applications of GPUs beyond gaming. His leadership and vision led to the development of AI supercomputers and NVIDIA's significant impact on the AI industry.

💡Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. The video illustrates how NVIDIA's GPUs have become essential in AI development, enabling complex computations required for training AI models. NVIDIA's technology is now fundamental in fields like AI research and development.

💡Generative AI

Generative AI involves models that can create content, such as text, images, or music, based on learned patterns. The video mentions ChatGPT as a generative AI model that relies on NVIDIA's GPUs for processing. This type of AI represents a significant advancement, allowing for creative and interactive applications.

💡AI Chip Market

The AI chip market refers to the industry focused on producing specialized hardware for AI applications. The video describes NVIDIA's dominance in this market, controlling about 90% of it. NVIDIA's leadership in AI chip technology has positioned it as a critical player in the future of AI and computing.

Highlights

NVIDIA, previously known mainly to PC gamers for their GPUs, has surged in value and is now one of the world's most valuable companies, surpassing Apple and challenging Microsoft.

The company's CEO, Jensen Wong, envisioned using GPUs for more than just graphics, proposing their use in complex scientific calculations.

GPUs can perform many tasks in parallel, making them ideal for accelerating scientific computations and AI model training.

NVIDIA developed a software platform allowing CPUs to leverage GPUs, significantly enhancing processing power.

This innovation led to a massive increase in NVIDIA's share price, which has risen by almost 450% since January last year.

Bitcoin miners quickly adopted NVIDIA's GPUs for their processing power, further boosting the company's market presence.

Jensen Wong aimed higher, creating an AI supercomputer by connecting multiple GPUs and using new software to enhance their performance.

NVIDIA's AI supercomputer prototype, DGS-1, was given to OpenAI, aiding in the development of advanced AI models like ChatGPT.

Generative AI models, such as ChatGPT, require enormous processing power, which NVIDIA's GPUs can provide efficiently.

NVIDIA's GPUs are now used for a wide range of applications, including drug discovery and climate change simulations.

NVIDIA controls about 90% of the AI chip market, with their GPUs becoming essential for training AI models.

The company's innovations have positioned it as a critical player in the AI industry, with their GPUs being a key component in major AI projects.

NVIDIA's success is compared to the early days of the internet, providing a platform for future technological advancements.

The high demand for NVIDIA's GPUs has allowed the company to charge premium prices, with some chips costing between $20,000 to $30,000.

OpenAI used around 10,000 of NVIDIA's GPUs to train the original ChatGPT model, highlighting the scale of AI's computational requirements.

Transcripts

>> Andrew: FOR OVER A DECADE,

THERE'S BEEN A BACK AND FORTH

BATTLE IN THE U.S. BETWEEN FOUR

COMPANIES, ALL VYING TO BE THE

MOST VALUABLE.

ALL FOUR OF THEM ARE HOUSEHOLD

NAMES WITH PRODUCTS MOST OF US

USE ALMOST EVERY DAY.

BUT THEN SEEMINGLY OUT OF

NOWHERE, A NEW CHALLENGER

APPEARS.

A COMPANY THAT, FOR MOST PEOPLE,

HAS MANAGED TO STAY UNDER THE

RADAR UNTIL NOW.

>> THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS,

NVIDIA THE WORLD'S SECOND MOST

VALUABLE COMPANY.

>> EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR STUFF,

AND THERE'S A HUGE LINE WAITING

FOR PEOPLE TO BUY THEM.

>> Andrew: THE AVERAGE PERSON

MIGHT NEVER HAVE HEARD OF THIS

COMPANY.

IT ONLY SELLS ONE PRODUCT, BUT

IT MADE A LOT OF MONEY VERY

QUICKLY, TO THE POINT WHERE IT'S

NOW SURPASSED APPLE AND IT'S

THREATENING MICROSOFT FOR THAT

TOPMOST VALUABLE SPOT.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

EVERY TIME YOU'RE EXPLORING A

VIRTUAL WORLD, TRACKING DOWN

OUTLAWS, TRACKING BATTLE ROIL OR

RACING DOWN RAY BOW ROAD, EVERY

SINGLE DETAIL -- THE TEXTURE,

THE LIGHTING, THE MOTION IS ALL

POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF A GPU OR

GRAPHIC PROCESSING UNIT, A

SPECIALIZED HARDWARE THAT WORKS

IN THE BACKGROUND, PROCESSING

MILLIONS OF TINY PIXELS CREATING

THE CRYSTAL CLEAR ULT WHERE

SMOOTH GAME PLAY WE COME TO THE

TODAY.

FOR DECADES, THIS IS WHAT NVIDIA

WAS KNOWN FOR.

THEIR WORK TRANSFORMED THIS INTO

THIS.

LITERALLY, ADDING A BRAND NEW

DIMENSION TO GAMING.

NOW IF YOU'RE NOT INTO THIS KIND

OF STUFF, MAYBE YOU'RE THINKING,

HEY, THAT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD FOR

A VIDEO GAME.

BUT IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW.

GAME GRAPHICS HAVE GOTTEN SO

MUCH BETTER.

>> THIS IS MADNESS.

>> IT'S ALL MADNESS.

FINISH THE MISSION.

>> NOTHING QUITE MATCHES THE

EXPERIENCE OF BOXING AND

SLOTTING IN A NEW GPU TO TURN A

RUN OF THE MILL COMPUTER INTO A

GAMING BATTLE STATION.

BUT UNLESS YOU'RE A PC GAMER.

THERE WAS NO REAL REASON FOR

PEOPLE TO KNOW NVIDIA EXISTED.

THIS IS WHAT ITS SHARE PRICE

LOOKED DECADES.

PRETTY FLAT, RIGHT?

WELL, THAT IS UNTIL THE C.E.O.

JENSEN WONG HAD AN IDEA.

WHAT IF THEIR GPU CHIPS COULD BE

USED FOR MORE THAN JUST

GRAPHICS?

WHAT IF RESEARCHERS COULD USE

THEM TO DO SUPER COMPLICATED

SCIENTIFIC CALCULATIONS WAY

FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE?

>> I THINK YOU RECOGNIZED EARLY

ON BECAUSE THE NATURE OF HOW

GPUs WORK VERSUS GPUs, IS THEY

DO A WHOLE BUNCH THINGS IN

PARALLEL.

THEY WERE SMART ENOUGH TO

RECOGNIZEB

THEY ARE WORKING IN PARALLEL,

MEANING, THEY CAN DO SIMPLER

TASKS, MUCH MORE QUICKLY.

BUT JENSEN'S IDEA WAS TO COMBINE

THE TWO.

DEVELOP A SOFTWARE PLATFORM THAT

WOULD ALLOW A COMPUTER'S CPU TO

LEVERAGE THE GPU, IT SUPER

CHARGE ITS OWN PROCESSING POWER.

IN EFFECT, HE WAS CREATING A WAY

FOR THE HEAD CHEF AND THE LINE

COOKS TO WORK TOGETHER MORE

EFFICIENTLY, SO THEY COULD ON

THE TASKS THEY WERE BEST AT,

TAKING THE WHOLE KITCHEN INTO

OVERDRIVE.

>> BY ADDING THE GPU TO THE CPU,

THE SPECIALIZED PROCESSOR CAN

TAKE SOMETHING THAT TAKES A

GREAT DEAL OF TIME AND

ACCELERATE IT DOWN TO SOMETHING

THAT IS INCREDIBLY FAST.

BECAUSE THE TWO PROCESSORS CAN

WORK SIDE BY SIDE -- THEY ARE

BOTH AUTONOMOUS AND SEPARATE,

INDEPENDENT -- WE CAN ACCELERATE

WHAT USED TO TAKE A HUNDRED

UNITS OF TIME DOWN TO ONE UNIT

OF TIME.

>> Andrew: THERE WAS A LOT OF

PROMISE IN THIS IDEA.

BIT COIN MINERS WERE QUICK TO

REALIZE THIS.

THEY ACTUALLY STARTED BUYING UP

NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARDS, STREAMING

SEVERAL OF THEM TOGETHER TO

CREATE MINING, INCREDIBLY DO

SOMETHING FAST.

>> JOSH HERE.

SHOW YOU MY GPU MINING RIG,

WHICH IS $800 IN THE U.S..

>> Andrew: BUT JENSEN SET HIS

SIGHTS HIGHER.

HIS GOAL WAS TO CREATE WHAT IS

CALLED AN A.I.SDS SUPER

COMPUTER.

SOW CONNECTED EIGHT OF HIS

COMPANY'S NEW -- SO HE CONNECTED

EIGHT OF HIS COMPANY'S GPUs

TOGETHER, THEN USE THE COMPANY'S

NEW SOFTWARE, TO HAVE IT ALL

WORK AS ONE.

>> TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, A LOT

OF THE EARLIEST WERE INTERESTING

ACADEMICALLY BUT NOT NECESSARILY

COMMERCIALLY.

>> NOBODY ASKED FOR IT.

NOBODY UNDERSTOOD IT.

I WAS CERTAIN, NOBODY WANTED TO

BUY IT.

>> Andrew: EXCEPT THE TIMING WAS

PRETTY PERFECT, BECAUSE WHILE

NVIDIA WAS WORKING ON THIS, THE

A.I. INDUSTRY WAS REALLY

STARTING TO PICK UP.

>> NOW A COMPETITION IS UNDER

WAY TO ADJUST WHETHER THE LATEST

AND GREATEST SUPER COMPUTER CAN

ACTUALLY THINK.

>> Andrew: REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS

ABOUT HOW TO TEACH THEIR A.I.

MODELS NEW THINGS, DEEP-LEARNING

ALGORITHMS, WAYS OF VACUUMING UP

AND PROCESSING ALL THE DATA OUT

THERE.

BUT WHAT THEY LACKED WAS THE

ACTUAL FORCE TO DO IT UNTIL 2016

WHEN JENSEN HAND-DELIVERED A

PROTOTYPE OF HIS A.I. SUPER

COMPUTER CALLED DGS-1 TO A GROUP

OF RESEARCHERS.

>> IF SOMETHING IS STRONG AND

YOU'RE THINKING OF DOING

EXPERIMENTS WITH IT.

VHS-1 -- DGS-1 WILL ALLOW US TO

DO IT ON A LARGER SCALE.

>> Andrew: DO YOU KNOW WHO HE

GAVE IT TO?

OPEN A.I.

THAT'S THE COMPANY BEHIND

CHAT-GPT IS TECHNOLOGY

ACCESSIBLE AND FREE TO ANYONE ON

THE WEB.

>> THE A.I. PROGRAMME SURPASSED

ONE MILLION USERS IN JUST FIVE

DAYS.

>> EVERYONE IS PLAYING AROUND

WITH IT, ASKING QUESTIONS,

MAKING SCRIPTS, WRITING CODES.

>> Andrew: GENERATIVE AS MODELS

LIKE CHAT-GPT LEVERAGED MASSIVE

AMOUNTS OF DATA.

LIKE BASICALLY, EVERYTHING

THAT'S BEEN ON THE INTERNET.

THE NUMBER OF OPERATIONS IT

TAKES FOR THEM TO PROCESS ALL

THAT DATA IS UNFATHOMABLE.

A.I. RESEARCHERS SAY IT'S MORE

THAN THE NUMBER OF GRAINS OF

SAND ON EARTH, WHATEVER INSANE

NUMBER THAT IS.

UNTIL ONLY RECENTLY, THAT

PROCESSING POWER SIMPLY DID NOT

EXIST.

>> IT'S ONLY RECENTLY IN THE

LAST DECADE OR SO THAT NVIDIA

REALIZED THAT THE SAME MATH THAT

UNDERGURDS GRAPHICS IS ALSO

USEFUL IN TRAINING ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS.

REPURPOSE MADE TO BE OPTIMIZED

FOR TRAINING A.I.

>> Andrew: AFTER CHAT-GPT, THE

FLOOD GATES OPENED.

COMPANIES AND INVESTORS SAW WHAT

WAS POSSIBLE WITH THIS POWERFUL

NEW GPU TECHNOLOGY, AND THINGS

EXPLODE FOR ININDIVIDUAL THESE

COMPANIES THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY

CURIOUS ABOUT A.I., BUT NOT SURE

HOW PRACTICAL OR FEASIBLE IT WAS

TO PURSUE, THEY ALL THREW THEIR

HATS INTO THE RING.

>> ALL OF A SUDDEN, ALL MAJOR

WORK WAS BEING DONE WITH NVIDIA.

>> EVERYONE NEEDS THEIR CHIP.

>> WE SHOWED YOU NVIDIA'S SHARE

PRICE EARLIER, THE ONE THAT

DIDN'T BUDGE FOR ALMOST 20

YEARS.

HERE'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW.

JUST SINCE JANUARY OF LAST YEAR,

IT'S GONE UP ALMOST 450%.

THE ANALYST WE SPOKE TO SAY A

BIG PART OF THAT RISE IS BECAUSE

NVIDIA CAN JUST CREATE A NEW

PRODUCT PEOPLE WANTED TO BUY.

THEY CREATED AN ENTIRELY NEW

INDUSTRY THAT MAY VERY WELL END

UP CHANGING THE COURSE OF HUMAN

HISTORY.

RESEARCHERS ARE NOW USING

NVIDIA'S CHIP TO DO THINGS LIKE

SIMULATE CELL REACTIONS TO

DISCOVER NEW DRUGS OR CREATE

REPLICAS OF THE EARTH TO PREDICT

MAT CHANGE WILL PLAY OUT.

>> ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WAS

MADE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THIS

COMPLETE BELIEF THAT IF WE MADE

COMPUTING CHEAPER AND CHEAPER,

SOMEBODY IS GOING TO FIND A

GREAT USE.

>> WE LOOK AT THIS AS A MOMENT

LIKE THE INTERNET, RIGHT, LIKE A

PLATFORM WHERE OTHER PEOPLE CAN

CREATE SOFTWARE, CREATE

EXPERIENCES, INVENT THIS NEW

PROTOCOL THAT NVIDIA'S

PROPOSITION IS ANYBODY WHO WANTS

TO GO TRAIN THESE MODELS AND

SCALE, BUILD THESE, NEED TO BE

DOING IT RIGHT ON THE NVIDIA

PLATFORM.

>> Andrew: RIGHT NOW, NVIDIA

CONTROLS SOMETHING LIKE 90% OF

THE A.I. CHIP MARKET.

OTHER CHIP MAKERS ARE RACING TO

CATCH UP, BUT THE ANALYSTS WE

SPOKE TO SAY NVIDIA IS DECADES

AHEAD OF THEM, WHICH IS PART OF

WHY THEY ARE ABLE TO CHARGE

PRETTY ASTRONOMICAL PRICES LIKE

20 TO 30 GRAND PER CHIP IN SOME

CASES.

AND JUST FOR REFERENCE, OPEN

A.I.

USE ABOUT 10,000 OF THOSE CHIPS

TO TRADE THE ORIGINAL CHAT T.

WE'LL LET YOU DO THE MATH ON

THAT ONE