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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking
statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “goal,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,”
“estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “potential” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance, time frames or achievements to be materially different from
any future results, performance, time frames or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We discuss many of these risks,
uncertainties and other factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors.” Given these risks, uncertainties and
other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, these forward-looking statements represent our estimates and
assumptions only as of the date of this filing. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K completely and with the understanding that our actual future
results may be materially different from what we expect. We hereby qualify our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Except as
required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially
from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
All references to “NVIDIA,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” mean NVIDIA Corporation and its subsidiaries, except where it is made clear that
the term means only the parent company.
© 2011 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, 3D Vision, CUDA, GeForce, NVIDIA Fermi, Quadro Tesla and Tegra are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries
Our Company
NVIDIA Corporation invented the graphics processing unit, or GPU, in 1999. Since then, we have strived to set new standards in visual computing
with interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and smart phones to notebooks and workstations. Our expertise in programmable GPUs
and computer-systems technology has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing less expensive and widely accessible. We are
strategically investing in three major areas – visual computing, high performance computing and mobile computing. We serve the visual computing market
with our consumer GeForce graphics products and professional Quadro graphics products; the high performance computing market with our Tesla computing
solutions products; and the mobile computing market with our Tegra system-on-chip products.
We have three primary financial reporting segments – GPU, Professional Solutions Business, or PSB and Consumer Products Business, or CPB. During
fiscal years 2010 and 2009, we operated and reported four major product-line operating segments: the GPU business, the PSB, the media and communications
processor, or MCP business, and the CPB. However, during the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, we began reporting internally the results of our former MCP
segment along with the results of our GPU segment to reflect the way we manage the GPU business.
Our GPU business is comprised primarily of our GeForce discrete and chipset products which support desktop and notebook personal computers, or PCs,
plus memory products. Our PSB is comprised of our Quadro professional workstation products and other professional graphics products, including our
NVIDIA Tesla high-performance computing products. Our CPB is comprised of our Tegra mobile products which support tablets, smartphones, personal
media players, or PMPs, internet television, automotive navigation, and other similar devices. CPB also includes license, royalty, other revenue and associated
costs related to video game consoles and other digital consumer electronics devices. Original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, original design
manufacturers, or ODMs, add-in-card manufacturers, system builders and consumer electronics companies worldwide utilize our processors as a core
component of their entertainment, business and professional solutions.
We were incorporated in California in April 1993 and reincorporated in Delaware in April 1998. Our headquarter facilities are in Santa Clara, California.
Our web address is www.nvidia.com. The contents of our website are not a part of this Form 10-K.
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