Nvidia to Offer Graphics Chip for Cloud-Computing Centers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) unveiled a version of its processors that will work in cloud-computing centers, offering users the ability to stream advanced graphics through the Internet to remote devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPad.

Nvidia collaborated with software maker Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) to make the technology work, Chief Executive Officer Jen-Hsun Huang said at a company conference today in San Jose, California. Nvidia is one of the top three providers of so- called graphics processing units, or GPUs.

Huang said his company is working on several applications of the technology aimed at improving the capabilities of electronics devices like smartphones, tablets, televisions and personal computers. He demonstrated a new, high-end video game being played by two competitors via the Internet, one using a tablet and the other using a television.

“With the cloud we can literally put GPU computing in the hands of billions of mobile users around the world,” he said.

In an another demonstration, Huang showed an iPad remotely accessing a PC running Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows operating system. The technology may be deployed by customers such as phone-service providers or Internet-access providers.

The hardest challenge to solve has been removing the lag between input on a device and response from the remote computer, Huang said. Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia has managed to reduce that to a response time similar to that of a computer- game console.

Nvidia shares fell 1 percent to $13 at the close in New York. They have declined 6.2 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net