Curtis Priem
Engineer who co-founded Nvidia and designed its first chips
- Works listed
- 1
- Graphics chip
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
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Curtis Priem is an American electrical engineer who co-founded Nvidia with Jensen Huang and Chris Malachowsky and was its first chief technology officer, designing its early graphics chips. He retired in 2003 and has given much of his wealth to education.
Biography
Background
Priem studied electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He designed graphics chips at Vermont Microsystems and Sun Microsystems.
Nvidia
In 1993 he co-founded Nvidia and, as CTO, designed its first chip, the NV1, and helped architect the RIVA and GeForce lines.
Retirement
He left Nvidia in 2003 and sold most of his shares early.
Philanthropy
He has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Rensselaer, which named its experimental media and performing arts centre and other facilities after him.
Timeline
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1993
Co-founds Nvidia
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1995
NV1 chip
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1999
GeForce 256
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2003
Retires
Notable works
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1995
NV1 Graphics chip
Did you know?
-
1
Nvidia’s name comes from “invidia”, Latin for envy.
-
2
He sold most of his Nvidia stock long before the AI boom.
-
3
He is a major donor to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Curtis Priem?
Curtis Priem is an American electrical engineer who co-founded Nvidia with Jensen Huang and Chris Malachowsky and was its first chief technology officer, designing its early graphics chips. He retired in 2003 and has given much of his wealth to education.
Where is Curtis Priem from?
Curtis Priem was born in United States.
What is Curtis Priem known for?
Curtis Priem is best known for Co-founding Nvidia (1993); Nvidia’s first chief technology officer.
References
- Curtis Priem — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Curtis Priem (Q5195858) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Curtis Priem”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Curtis Priem.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/curtis-priem
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