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Jensen Huang Marks GeForce 3’s 25th Anniversary, Calls It the Foundation for CUDA and AI

He credits the card’s move to programmable shaders for pushing NVIDIA from graphics into computing.

Overview

  • Huang met with senior GeForce team members to reflect on the 2001 launch and its legacy ahead of his GTC 2026 keynote.
  • He declared, "Without GeForce there would be no CUDA, without CUDA there would be no AI, without AI there would be no today."
  • GeForce 3 introduced programmable vertex and pixel shaders, shifting GPUs away from fixed‑function designs and giving developers greater artistic control.
  • Huang said the industry’s move to ray tracing initially slowed frame rates and required AI methods like DLSS, which enabled neural and generative rendering.
  • Coverage underscores NVIDIA’s current emphasis on AI‑driven upscaling to meet growing graphics compute demands, with Doom 3 and Morrowind cited as emblematic GeForce 3‑era showcases.