Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appeared like a rock star to a packed house, presenting AI chips and software for robots, cars, video games and more.
After years of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas being on the sidelines, talking about computer chips has become a hot topic, and people lined up for hours to fill the hall and hear Huang talk about AI.
"When you see application after application being driven by artificial intelligence, at its core, machine learning has changed the way computing is going to be done," Jensen said during a self-presentation on stage.
"There are so many things you can't do without AI," he emphasized.
His speech took place on the eve of the opening of CES and on the day Nvidia's stock closed at a new record high, giving the Silicon Valley company a market valuation of more than $3.6 trillion.
Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) to power artificial intelligence in data centers have been purchased by Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI and other companies vying to be leaders in this technology.
During a lengthy presentation at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay resort, Huang unveiled a GPU to boost AI capabilities in PCs, where Nvidia has won the loyalty of gamers since the company's inception.
Nvidia has touted the new GeForce RTX 50 series for desktop and notebook PCs, based on the Blackwell chip architecture, as its most advanced consumer GPUs.
"Blackwell, the engine of artificial intelligence, has arrived for PC gamers, developers and creators," Huang said.
PCs enhanced with RTX chips for AI capabilities will be available from a number of manufacturers, including Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Razer and Samsung.
The AI-enabled PC shown during the presentation is priced at $1,299, built with a $549 RTX chip at the entry point of the new GPU lineup.
Along with fast rendering of rich game action, Nvidia's AI technology will enable the creation of characters that perceive, plan and act like humans, according to Nvidia.
Such autonomous characters are being integrated into games including "PUBG: Battlegrounds."
Huang also introduced open-world family foundation models for developing "physical AI" that allows robots to understand and participate in real-world tasks.
Nvidia has expanded partnerships and technologies for autonomous capabilities into automobiles as well, with Toyota joining the list. | BGNES
