We Are Living In A Simulation That Runs On NVIDIA

Ok maybe that is totally tongue in cheek and maybe even a bit hyperbolic. If we are running in a simulation I have know idea what the base layer really runs on. But the power of NVIDIA’s new Blackwell platform, combined with everything else they have been fielding, makes me think they could put us all in a simulation and we would be hard pressed to recognize the difference between that and reality. 

NVIDIA is a frequent subject of the OODA Daily Pulse tech news summary. We try to track not just their capabilities but the impact their tech is having on business and governments. Until recently I thought I had at least a feel for what they have been bringing to the economy. But the announcements, demonstrations and partnerships with major global players discussed at the 2024 NVIDIA GTC conference has me rethinking everything.

Business and government leaders should pause and reflect on what is happening here. Right before our eyes a major tech player is re-working major parts of our economy.

I encourage all to take time to watch the Jensen Huang keynote below. Watch without multi-tasking so you can really consider the impact of these tech developments on your organization. Would love to know your thoughts on what this means to you. Till you can watch, here are some bullets of things I believe are most critical to know now:

A new chip was announced. The Blackwell chip has over 208 billion transistors. That’s a huge number, but that is not the big deal. The big deal is that it is the most advanced and powerful chip on the planet and it is designed to function as part of an architecture that creates incredible systems of systems. And is built to be interoperable with existing architectures making upgrades easy.

Partners building on this new architecture include every big tech firm you have ever heard of. Google, Amazon, Dell, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, Tesla. Tech firms you may not have heard of but probably manage your enterprise data are also using this. This includes firms like NetApp, SAP, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Cohesity.

The entire tech industry is gearing up to use this Blackwell approach.

More announcements:

• Advances have been announced around how to program in this new architecture. You do it using AI. Speak to it and it programs itself for you.
• NVIDIA is launching a new type of biology software to enable improved use of AI for healthcare..
• NVIDIA’s Omniverse (a metaverse they have been developing for years), is bringing AI to replications of the physical world with advanced simulation engines.
• Improved robotics support., This includes humanoid robotics (via project GR00T), which, as we have mentioned, are coming faster than most anticipate.
• Direct connection and support to the Apple Vision Pro. You can work in a NVIDIA simulation or the Omniverse via the Vision Pro.
• Climate, weather and the earth are better modeled now. New capabilities were announced that model the entirety of the earth’s climate.
• Jensen Huang put it this way: This is a transformational moment. I think he right of course, but am feeling like this is an understatement.,

Watch the video of Jensen Huang’s keynote here: