Nvidia Corp on Monday took the wraps off new products such as artificial intelligence (AI) to better train robots and cars, souped-up gaming chips and its first desktop computer, as it expounded upon its potential to expand its business.
At CES 2025, a major annual tech conference in Las Vegas, CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) laid out how the world’s second-most valuable firm is bringing technology that powers its lucrative data center AI chips to consumer PCs and laptops.
He also introduced what Nvidia calls Cosmos foundation models that generate photo-realistic video which can be used to train robots and self-driving cars at a much lower cost than using conventional data.
Photo: Reuters
By creating so-called “synthetic” training data, the models help robots and cars understand the physical world similar to the way that large language models have helped chatbots generate responses in natural language.
Users would be able to give Cosmos a text description that can be used to generate video of a world that obeys the laws of physics. This promises to be much cheaper than gathering data as it is done today such as putting cars on the road to gather video or having humans teach robots repetitive tasks.
Cosmos would be made available on an “open license,” similar to Meta Platforms Inc’s Llama 3 language models that have become widely used in the tech industry.
“We really hope [Cosmos] will do for the world of robotics and industrial AI what Llama 3 has done for enterprise AI,” Huang said.
Huang also unveiled new gaming chips that use Nvidia’s Blackwell AI technology, which has helped propel its sales in data centers.
The chips, which Nvidia calls its RTX 50 series, aim to give video games movie-like graphics, especially in a field known as “shaders,” which can help images like a ceramic teapot look more realistic by adding imperfections and fingerprint smudges to its surface.
The new chips can also help game developers generate more accurate human faces, an area where players are apt to notice even slightly unrealistic features. The chips would range in price from US$549 to US$1,999, with top models arriving on Jan. 30 and lower-tier models coming next month.
Huang also showed off its first desktop computer, called Project Digits — albeit a computer designed for computer programmers rather than regular consumers.
Costing US$3,000 and running an Nvidia operating system based on Linux, it would feature the same chip at the heart of the company’s data center offerings, but paired with a central processor built with help from MediaTek Inc (聯發科).
The chips would come in a smaller package that can be used by individual software developers to test their AI systems quickly. The desktop would be available in March.
Nvidia also said Toyota Motor Corp would use its Orin chips and automotive operating system to power advanced driver assistance in several models.
It did not give details about the models.
Huang expects automotive hardware and software revenue of US$5 billion in the fiscal next year, up from an expected US$4 billion this year.
CES runs through Friday.
Nvidia’s stock closed at a record high of US$149.43 on Monday, bringing its valuation to US$3.66 trillion and making it the world’s second-most valuable listed company behind Apple Inc.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking