This book tells how a revolutionary company, NVIDIA, started its empire. NVIDIA survived first by beating its competitors in the gaming industry. Then, there was a Bitcoin moment for its business, though this is not what it aims for. Eventually, it is the era of AI that is deeply driven by NVIDIA in parallel technology in GPU. Below are the key takeaways I learned from the journey of NVIDIA.
What is not believed by the mainstream today does not mean it will not dominate the world in the coming future – when Neural Network, GPU and CUDA meet each other.
The architecture of the neural network was not believed to make the AI a reality. It was thrown into the trash bin before. GPU was not an option for Intel because Intel is so focused on its mature and money-guaranteed business. CUDA was doubted for decades, and it even tumbled Jensen’s position as the business owner. The neural network, GPU, and CUDA, when meeting each other, mark the new era, the new business, and the new vision for the human revolution.
Never forget the fundamental.
Once again, this book reminds me of the fundamental knowledge in AI, AlexNet for vision AI, and the transformer for everything-AI. I printed the papers out and decided to read them again. They are the singular moments of AI.
Talent and Responsiveness to the Market
Jensen knows where to find talent, whether from academia or industry. What’s more, have a group of talents run in a fast cycle to launch what customers need in the market. New technology and an advantage in product development speed make it hard for competitors to catch up, shaping NVIDIA’s economic moat. The key: how to get the right talent and drive them to work together efficiently.
