Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang recently shared how a pivotal €4.6 million investment from Sega in the 1990s prevented the company from bankruptcy during its early struggles. This funding stemmed from a failed partnership on the Sega Dreamcast console, transforming a contractual payment into a crucial investment. In the mid-1990s, Nvidia pitched Sega to develop the graphics chip for the Dreamcast console but lacked the technical capability to deliver. Despite the failure, Huang requested the final €4.6 million payment to keep Nvidia afloat, admitting the startup had few prospects. Sega’s America CEO, Shoichiro Irimajiri, approved it as an investment, largely due to liking Huang personally. Sega cashed out its stake for around €13.8 million after Nvidia’s 1999 IPO, tripling their money in a few years. Huang noted that holding onto it today would value the investment at roughly €920 billion, given Nvidia’s €3.7 trillion market cap driven by AI demand. Sega’s early exit meant forgoing this windfall amid their own financial woes. The funds fueled Nvidia’s pivot to PC graphics and gaming GPUs, leading to successes like GeForce and cloud gaming platforms. Today, Nvidia thrives more on AI sales than gaming, underscoring the lifeline’s long-term impact. This episode highlights how chance encounters shaped tech giants.
More Amiga news
Nintendo Secures €7 million victory in 15-year Wii controller patent battle
Star Fox 64 Blasts onto the Dreamcast: ported in just two days
Atari’s Bold move: acquiring 82.6% of thunderful Group in a €4.5 million investment
Escom’s $14 Million Commodore buyout: what went wrong?
Antstream’s Retro Classics surpasses 1 million players on Xbox Game Pass
Game over: how payment processors are quietly censoring Indie Games
Classic of the ’80s: Prince of Persia is now playable on the Sega Dreamcast
Doom64 from N64 to Sega Dreamcast: truly impressive port
Sega Genesis: August 1989 – Sega invades the US gaming market
Classic Tomb Raider looks amazing in upcoming Nvidia RTX remaster
Sega Dreamcast: The futuristic games console that came too soon
Saudi Arabia Wealth fund raises Nintendo stake to 6%
Sega’s Genesis Mini is now available for only €43
The famous Quickshot joysticks: 42 million units were sold until 1999
Amiga emulator released for SEGA Dreamcast: 500 games included