Artificial intelligence and accelerated computing are being used to help solve the world’s greatest challenges.
NVIDIA has reinvented the computing stack — spanning GPUs, CPUs, DPUs, networking and software. Our platform drives the AI revolution, powering hundreds of millions of devices in every cloud and fueling 75% of the world’s TOP500 supercomputers.
Put in the hands of entrepreneurs and enterprises, developers and scientists, that platform becomes a system for invention, and a force for good across industries and geographies.
Here are five examples of how these technologies are being put to work from the past year:
Supporting Surgeons
Illinois-based startup SimBioSys has created TumorSight Viz, a technology that converts MRI images into 3D models of breast tissue. This helps surgeons better treat breast cancers by providing detailed visualizations of tumors and surrounding tissue.
Saving Lives and Energy
Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a key player in the Human Genome Project, analyze tens of thousands of cancer genomes annually, providing insights into cancer formation and treatment effectiveness. NVIDIA accelerated computing and software drastically reduce the institute’s analysis runtime and energy consumption per genome.
Cleaning Up Our Waters
Clearbot, developed by University of Hong Kong grads, is an AI-driven sea-cleaning boat that autonomously collects trash from the water. Enabled by the NVIDIA Jetson platform, Clearbot is making a splash in Hong Kong and India, helping keep tourist regions clean.
Greening Recycling Plants
Greyparrot, a UK-based startup, has developed the Greyparrot Analyzer, an AI-powered device that offers “waste intelligence” to recycling plants. Using embedded cameras and machine learning, the analyzer identifies and differentiates materials on conveyor belts, significantly improving recycling efficiency.
Driving Technological Advancement in Africa
A new AI innovation hub has launched in Tunisia, part of NVIDIA’s efforts to train 100,000 developers across Africa. Built in collaboration with the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute, the hub offers training, technologies and business networks to drive AI adoption across the continent.
All of these initiatives — whether equipping surgeons with new tools or making recycling plants greener — rely on the ingenuity of human beings across the globe, humans increasingly supercharged by AI.
Find more examples of how AI is helping people from across industries and the globe to make a difference and drive positive social impact.
GeForce NOW is kicking off 2025 by delivering 14 games to the cloud this month, with two available to stream this week so members can get started on their New Year’s gaming resolutions.
This year’s CES trade show will open with a keynote from NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, Jan. 6. GeForce NOW is offering members front-row seats in a virtual stadium, so they can hear the latest announcements and get hyped with livestreams — no downloads or installations required.
It’s all powered by GeForce NOW cloud streaming and hosted by ZENOS, an innovative virtual stadium platform. Members can enter the virtual stadium starting at 3 p.m. PT on Monday, Jan. 6.
In addition, gear up to participate in NVIDIA GeForce LAN 50 gaming missions starting on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 4:30 p.m. PT. Stream #GeForceGreats games to unlock incredible in-game rewards with GeForce NOW.
Mission Possible
Your mission begins here.
It’s rewarding to be a GeForce NOW member. Unlock exclusive rewards during CES by doing what gamers do best — playing the game. Members can participate in GeForce LAN 50 gaming missions even without a game-ready rig.
To participate, stream the following featured GeForce Greats games on GeForce NOW and earn exclusive in-game items:
Diablo IV: Creeping Shadows Mount Armor Bundle
The Elder Scrolls Online: Pineblossom Vale Elk Mount
The Finals: Legendary Corrugatosaurus Mask
World of Warcraft: Armored Bloodwing Mount
Fallout 76: Settler Work Chief Outfit and Raider Nomad Outfit
Complete each game’s mission to become eligible for the associated reward. Rewards will be available to redeem on Thursday, Jan. 9. They’re available on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure to jump in right away.
With GeForce NOW, members can participate in the event on any supported device, whether a PC, Mac, SHIELD TV or mobile device, with access to GeForce RTX gaming rigs in the cloud for maximum performance.
Front-Row Seat to NVIDIA at CES 2025
Step into the action, wherever you are.
Join others around the world as NVIDIA celebrates the latest advancements in gaming, technology and generative AI at CES, starting with livestreams from the GeForce LAN 50 online event that’ll lead up to the show’s opening NVIDIA keynote — all from the comfort of home, no trip to Las Vegas needed.
Enter the virtual stadium using the GeForce NOW app on PC, Mac or through a web browser for those without a GeForce NOW membership. The virtual stadium is hosted by ZENOS, which uses NVIDIA’s cloud gaming infrastructure to deliver high-fidelity, low-latency streaming experiences directly via web browsers, making live events more accessible worldwide.
Who’s number one?
Enhance the experience by signing in with a GeForce NOW membership, and create a “Ready Player Me” avatar and account to save digital characters for future visits. Members can link their Twitch accounts to chat, emote with other viewers in the stadium and collect NVIDIA-branded digital items, including NVIDIA foam fingers and jerseys, to customize their avatars.
New Year New Games
Look for the following games available to stream in the cloud this week:
Artificial intelligence made big moves this year — as did the robots the technology is working behind.
From Silicon Valley to India, Boston to Japan, here are some of the autonomous machines and robotics technologies, powered by NVIDIA AI, that offered helping hands in 2024.
Clearbot Tidies Up Ocean Litter
Hong Kong- and India-based Clearbot, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program for cutting-edge startups, is making a splash with its autonomous trash-collection boats enabled by the NVIDIA Jetson platform for edge AI and robotics.
The startup’s autonomous ocean vessels are equipped with two cameras — one for navigation and another for waste identification of what boats have scooped up.
Clearbot trained its garbage- and obstacle-identifying AI models using NVIDIA accelerated computing. The energy-efficient NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX system-on-module allows the battery-powered water-cleaning boats to collect for eight hours at a time.
New human-scale hands, six RGB cameras and perception AI models trained with synthetic data generated in the NVIDIA Isaac Sim robotics developer simulation platform enable Figure 02 to perform high-precision pick-and-place tasks required for smart manufacturing applications.
The company recently tested Figure 02 for data collection and use-case training at BMW Group’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, production line.
ORBIT-Surgical Researchers Prep Robots for Surgery
The ORBIT-Surgical simulation framework — developed by researchers from the University of Toronto, UC Berkeley, ETH Zürich, Georgia Tech and NVIDIA — helps train robots that could augment the skills of surgical teams while reducing surgeons’ cognitive loads.
It supports more than a dozen maneuvers inspired by the training curriculum for minimally invasive surgeries.
Presented at this year’s ICRA robotics conference in Japan, the needle-moving robotics research — based on Isaac Sim and Omniverse — also introduced benchmarks for one-handed tasks such as picking up a piece of gauze, inserting a shunt into a blood vessel and lifting a suture needle to a specific position.
The benchmarks also include two-handed tasks, like passing a threaded needle through a ring pole.
Zordi Robots Grow Strawberries Indoors
Boston-based autonomous agriculture startup Zordi — with farms in southern New Jersey and western New York — is tapping into robotics to grow strawberries indoors.
Autonomous greenhouse systems can support regional markets across the globe, cutting down on the carbon footprint for transportation and providing fresher, better-tasting fruits grown more sustainably.
Zordi uses two types of robots within its operations. One is a scouting robot for gathering information on plant health using foundational models, the other a harvesting robot for delicately picking and placing fruits and handling other tasks.
Learn more about the latest in generative AI and autonomous machines — including NVIDIA’s three-computer approach to robotics — by joining NVIDIA at CES, running Jan. 6-10 in Las Vegas.
The pace of technology innovation has accelerated in the past year, most dramatically in AI. And in 2024, there was no better place to be a part of creating those breakthroughs than NVIDIA Research.
NVIDIA Research is comprised of hundreds of extremely bright people pushing the frontiers of knowledge, not just in AI, but across many areas of technology.
In the past year, NVIDIA Research laid the groundwork for future improvements in GPU performance with major research discoveries in circuits, memory architecture and sparse arithmetic. The team’s invention of novel graphics techniques continues to raise the bar for real-time rendering. And we developed new methods for improving the efficiency of AI — requiring less energy, taking fewer GPU cycles and delivering even better results.
But the most exciting developments of the year have been in generative AI.
We’re now able to generate, not just images and text, but 3D models, music and sounds. We’re also developing better control over what is generated: to generate realistic humanoid motion and to generate sequences of images with consistent subjects.
The application of generative AI to science has resulted in high-resolution weather forecasts that are more accurate than conventional numerical weather models. AI models have given us the ability to accurately predict how blood glucose levels respond to different foods. Embodied generative AI is being used to develop autonomous vehicles and robots.
And that was just this year. What follows is a deeper dive into some of NVIDIA Research’s greatest generative AI work in 2024. Of course, we continue to develop new models and methods for AI, and expect even more exciting results next year.
ConsiStory: AI-Generated Images With Main Character Energy
ConsiStory, a collaboration between researchers at NVIDIA and Tel Aviv University, makes it easier to generate multiple images with a consistent main character — an essential capability for storytelling use cases such as illustrating a comic strip or developing a storyboard.
The researchers’ approach introduced a technique called subject-driven shared attention, which reduces the time it takes to generate consistent imagery from 13 minutes to around 30 seconds.
ConsiStory is capable of generating a series of images featuring the same character.
Edify 3D: Generative AI Enters a New Dimension
NVIDIA Edify 3D is a foundation model that enables developers and content creators to quickly generate 3D objects that can be used to prototype ideas and populate virtual worlds.
Edify 3D helps creators quickly ideate, lay out and conceptualize immersive environments with AI-generated assets. Novice and experienced content creators can use text and image prompts to harness the model, which is now part of the NVIDIA Edify multimodal architecture for developing visual generative AI.
Fugatto: Flexible AI Sound Machine for Music, Voices and More
A team of NVIDIA researchers recently unveiled Fugatto, a foundational generative AI model that can create or transform any mix of music, voices and sounds based on text or audio prompts.
The model can, for example, create music snippets based on text prompts, add or remove instruments from existing songs, modify the accent or emotion in a voice recording, or generate completely novel sounds. It could be used by music producers, ad agencies, video game developers or creators of language learning tools.
GluFormer: AI Predicts Blood Sugar Levels Four Years Out
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv-based startup Pheno.AI and NVIDIA led the development of GluFormer, an AI model that can predict an individual’s future glucose levels and other health metrics based on past glucose monitoring data.
The researchers showed that, after adding dietary intake data into the model, GluFormer can also predict how a person’s glucose levels will respond to specific foods and dietary changes, enabling precision nutrition. The research team validated GluFormer across 15 other datasets and found it generalizes well to predict health outcomes for other groups, including those with prediabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and obesity.
LATTE3D: Enabling Near-Instant Generation, From Text to 3D Shape
Another 3D generator released by NVIDIA Research this year is LATTE3D, which converts text prompts into 3D representations within a second — like a speedy, virtual 3D printer. Crafted in a popular format used for standard rendering applications, the generated shapes can be easily served up in virtual environments for developing video games, ad campaigns, design projects or virtual training grounds for robotics.
MaskedMimic: Reconstructing Realistic Movement for Humanoid Robots
To advance the development of humanoid robots, NVIDIA researchers introduced MaskedMimic, an AI framework that applies inpainting — the process of reconstructing complete data from an incomplete, or masked, view — to descriptions of motion.
Given partial information, such as a text description of movement, or head and hand position data from a virtual reality headset, MaskedMimic can fill in the blanks to infer full-body motion. It’s become part of NVIDIA Project GR00T, a research initiative to accelerate humanoid robot development.
In the field of climate science, NVIDIA Research announced StormCast, a generative AI model for emulating atmospheric dynamics. While other machine learning models trained on global data have a spatial resolution of about 30 kilometers and a temporal resolution of six hours, StormCast achieves a 3-kilometer, hourly scale.
The researchers trained StormCast on approximately three-and-a-half years of NOAA climate data from the central U.S. When applied with precipitation radars, StormCast offers forecasts with lead times of up to six hours that are up to 10% more accurate than the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s state-of-the-art 3-kilometer regional weather prediction model.
Read the StormCast paper, written in collaboration with researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Washington.
NVIDIA Research Sets Records in AI, Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics
Through 2024, models that originated in NVIDIA Research set records across benchmarks for AI training and inference, route optimization, autonomous driving and more.
In the field of autonomous vehicles, Hydra-MDP, an end-to-end autonomous driving framework by NVIDIA Research, achieved first place on the End-To-End Driving at Scale track of the Autonomous Grand Challenge at CVPR 2024.
In robotics, FoundationPose, a unified foundation model for 6D object pose estimation and tracking, obtained first place on the BOP leaderboard for model-based pose estimation of unseen objects.
Learn more about NVIDIA Research, which has hundreds of scientists and engineers worldwide. NVIDIA Research teams are focused on topics including AI, computer graphics, computer vision, self-driving cars and robotics.
AI and accelerated computing are key tools in the push for sustainability. Joshua Parker, senior director of corporate sustainability at NVIDIA, discusses how these technologies are contributing to a more sustainable future by improving energy efficiency and helping address climate challenges.
Zoom helped change the way people work, playing a pivotal role for many during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s CTO, Xuedong Huang, shares how the company is reshaping productivity with AI.
Alan Chalker, the director of strategic programs at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, shares how the center empowers Ohio higher education institutions and industries with accessible, reliable and secure computational services — and works with client companies like NASCAR, which is simulating race car designs virtually.
Generative AI can help anyone become a content creator by rapidly bringing ideas to life. Pinar Seyhan Demirdag, cofounder and CEO of Cuebric, discusses how the company’s AI-powered application makes high-quality production more accessible and affordable.
Dr. Keith Channon, cofounder and chief medical officer at health tech startup Caristo Diagnostics, discusses an AI-powered solution for detecting coronary inflammation — a key indicator of heart disease — in cardiac CT scans. These insights could help physicians improve treatment plans and risk predictions.
This GFN Thursday wraps up another incredible year for cloud gaming. Take a look back at the top games and new features that made 2024 a standout for GeForce NOW members.
Enjoy it all with three new games to close the year.
Remember to mark the calendar for the CES opening keynote, to be delivered by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, Jan. 6.
That’s a Wrap
In another ultimate year of high-performance cloud gaming, GeForce NOW introduced new features for cloud gamers and reached a significant milestone by surpassing 2,000 games in its library, thanks to strong collaborations with celebrated publishers.
Don’t pass up the chance to get all the premium benefits of the cloud for 24 hours.
GeForce NOW also launched new data centers in Japan and Poland this year, bringing GeForce RTX 4080-powered servers to gamers in the regions. Day Passes were introduced to offer gamers more flexible ways to access the cloud, with the ability to enjoy premium benefits of Ultimate and Performance memberships for 24 hours at a time.
Members who wanted to stream their favorite PC games to Valve’s Steam Deck were provided a new beta installation method that let them automatically install Google Chrome to the device, along with all the settings needed to log in to GeForce NOW to stream their favorite games. And GeForce NOW brought an upgraded streaming experience for Performance members, providing up to 1440p resolution — an increase from the original 1080p limit.
Conquering in the cloud never looked so good.
The rollout of Xbox automatic sign-in streamlined the gaming experience, enabling members to link their Xbox profile to their GeForce NOW account for seamless access to their game libraries. GeForce NOW also partnered with CurseForge to bring mod for World of Warcraft, enabling Ultimate and Priority members to easily enable and customize over 25 top WoW Addons in the cloud, enhancing their gameplay experience across various devices.
Everything is great in the cloud.
The highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle made its debut in the cloud, offering players a thrilling globetrotting adventure with stunning ray-traced graphics and NVIDIA DLSS 3 support. Fans could uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries as they traveled from the pyramids of Egypt to the sunken temples of Sukhothai, all while enjoying the game’s immersive action and intriguing puzzles.
The cloud is the path of least resistance.
Early access for Path of Exile 2 arrived with deep customization options and improved visuals. Dragon Age: The Veilguard captivated players with BioWare’s rich fantasy world, while Black Myth: Wukong pushed cloud gaming graphics to new heights with its stunning take on Chinese mythology.
GeForce NOW also welcomed Activision Blizzard games and Battle.net integration. Members gained access to blockbuster titles like Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, Hearthstone and more, adding to the cloud gaming library some of the most popular multiplayer titles.
And it doesn’t stop there — check back in each week to see what’s in store for GeForce NOW in the new year.
Toast to New Adventures
Look for the following games available to stream in the cloud this week:
Editor’s note: This post is part of the AI Decoded series, which demystifies AI by making the technology more accessible, and showcases new hardware, software, tools and accelerations for GeForce RTX PC and NVIDIA RTX workstation users.
The AI Decoded series over the past year has broken down all things AI — from simplifying the complexities of large language models (LLMs) to highlighting the power of RTX AI PCs and workstations.
Recapping the latest AI advancements, this roundup highlights how the technology has changed the way people write, game, learn and connect with each other online.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs offer the power to deliver these experiences on PC laptops, desktops and workstations. They feature specialized AI Tensor Cores that can deliver more than 1,300 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of processing power for cutting-edge performance in gaming, creating, everyday productivity and more. For workstations, NVIDIA RTX GPUs deliver over 1,400 TOPS, enabling next-level AI acceleration and efficiency.
Unlocking Productivity and Creativity With AI-Powered Chatbots
AI Decoded earlier this year explored what LLMs are, why they matter and how to use them.
For many, tools like ChatGPT were their first introduction to AI. LLM-powered chatbots have transformed computing from basic, rule-based interactions to dynamic conversations. They can suggest vacation ideas, write customer service emails, spin up original poetry and even write code for users.
Introduced in March, ChatRTX is a demo app that lets users personalize a GPT LLM with their own content, such as documents, notes and images.
With features like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM and RTX acceleration, ChatRTX enables users to quickly search and ask questions about their own data. And since the app runs locally on RTX PCs or workstations, results are both fast and private.
NVIDIA offers the broadest selection of foundation models for enthusiasts and developers, including Gemma 2, Mistral and Llama-3. These models can run locally on NVIDIA GeForce and RTX GPUs for fast, secure performance without needing to rely on cloud services.
AI is being incorporated into more and more apps and use cases, including games, content creation apps, software development and productivity tools.
This expansion is fueled by the wide selection of RTX-accelerated developer and community tools, software development kits, models and frameworks have made it easier than ever to run models locally in popular applications.
AI Decoded in October spotlighted how Brave Browser’s Leo AI, powered by NVIDIA RTX GPUs and the open-source Ollama platform, enables users to run local LLMs like Llama 3 directly on their RTX PCs or workstations.
This local setup offers fast, responsive AI performance while keeping user data private — without relying on the cloud. NVIDIA’s optimizations for tools like Ollama offer accelerated performance for tasks like summarizing articles, answering questions and extracting insights, all directly within the Brave browser. Users can switch between local and cloud models, providing flexibility and control over their AI experience.
For simple instructions on how to add local LLM support via Ollama, read Brave’s blog. Once configured to point to Ollama, Leo AI will use the locally hosted LLM for prompts and queries.
Agentic AI — Enabling Complex Problem-Solving
Agentic AI is the next frontier of AI, capable of using sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems.
AI Decoded explored how the AI community is experimenting with the technology to create smarter, more capable AI systems.
Partner applications like AnythingLLM showcase how AI is going beyond simple question-answering to improving productivity and creativity. Users can harness the application to deploy built-in agents that can tackle tasks like searching the web or scheduling meetings.
Example of a user invoking an AI agent in AnythingLLM to complete a web search query.
AnythingLLM lets users interact with documents through intuitive interfaces, automate complex tasks with AI agents and run advanced LLMs locally. Harnessing the power of RTX GPUs, it delivers faster, smarter and more responsive AI workflows — all within a single local desktop application. The application also works offline and is fast and private, capable of using local data and tools typically inaccessible with cloud-based solutions.
AnythingLLM’s Community Hub lets anyone easily access system prompts that can help them steer LLM behavior, discover productivity-boosting slash commands and build specialized AI agent skills for unique workflows and custom tools.
By enabling users to run agentic AI workflows on their own systems with full privacy, AnythingLLM is fueling innovation and making it easier to experiment with the latest technologies.
AI Decoded Wrapped
Over 600 Windows apps and games today are already running AI locally on more than 100 million GeForce RTX AI PCs and workstations worldwide, delivering fast, reliable and low-latency performance. Learn more about NVIDIA GeForce RTX AI PCs and NVIDIA RTX AI workstations.
Tune into the CES keynote delivered by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Jan. 6. to discover how the latest in AI is supercharging gaming, content creation and development.
Generative AI is transforming gaming, videoconferencing and interactive experiences of all kinds. Make sense of what’s new and what’s next by subscribing to the AI Decoded newsletter.
Stuck in a gaming rut? Get out of the loop this GFN Thursday with four new games joining the GeForce NOW library of over 2,000 supported games.
Dive into Square Enix’s mind-bending action role-playing games (RPGs) NieR:Automata and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, now streaming in the cloud. Plus, explore HoYoverse’s Zenless Zone Zero for an adrenaline-packed adventure, just in time for its 1.4 update.
Check out GeForce Greats, which offers a look back at the biggest and best moments of PC gaming, from the launch of the GeForce 256 graphics card to the modern era. Follow the GeForce, GeForce NOW, NVIDIA Studio and NVIDIA AI PC channels on X, as well as #GeForceGreats, to join in on the nostalgic journey. Plus, participate in the GeForce LAN Missions from the cloud with GeForce NOW starting on Saturday, Jan. 4, for a chance to win in-game rewards, first come, first served.
GeForce NOW members will also be able to launch a virtual stadium for a front-row seat to the CES opening keynote, to be delivered by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, Jan. 6. Stay tuned to GFN Thursday for more details.
A Tale of Two NieRs
NieR:Automata and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… — two captivating action RPGs from Square Enix — delve into profound existential themes and are set in a distant, postapocalyptic future.
Existence is futile, except in the cloud.
Control androids 2B, 9S and A2 as they battle machine life-forms in a proxy war for human survival in NieR:Automata. The game explores complex philosophical concepts through its multiple endings and perspective shifts, blurring the lines between man and machine. It seamlessly mixes stylish and exhilarating combat with open-world exploration for a diverse gameplay experience.
The hero’s journey leads to the cloud.
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, an updated version of the original NieR game, follows a young man’s quest to save his sister from a mysterious illness called the Black Scrawl. Uncover dark secrets about their world while encountering a cast of unforgettable characters and making heart-wrenching decisions.
Unravel the layers of the emotionally charged world of NieR with each playthrough on GeForce NOW. Experience rich storytelling and intense combat without high-end hardware. Carefully explore every possible loop with extended gaming sessions for Performance and Ultimate members.
Find Zen in the Cloud
Dive into the Hollows.
Zenless Zone Zero, the free-to-play action role-playing game from HoYoverse, is set in the post-apocalyptic metropolis of New Eridu. Take on the role of a “Proxy” and guide others through dangerous alternate dimensions to confront an interdimensional threat. The game features a fast-paced, combo-oriented combat system and offers a mix of intense action, character-driven storytelling and exploration of a unique futuristic world.
The title comes to the cloud in time for the version 1.4 update, A Storm of Falling Stars, bringing additions to the game for new and experienced players alike. Joining the roster of playable characters are Frost Anomaly agent Hoshimi Miyabi and Electric Attack agent Asaba Harumasa. Plus, the revamped Decibel system allows individual characters to collect and use Decibels instead of sharing across the squad, offering a new layer of strategy. Explore two new areas, Port Elpis and Reverb Arena, and try out the new “Hollow Zero-Lost Void” mode.
Experience the adventure on GeForce NOW and dive deeper into New Eridu across devices with a Performance or Ultimate membership. Snag some in-game loot by following the GeForce NOW social channels (X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads) and be on the lookout for for a limited-quantity redemption code for a free reward package — including 20,000 Dennies, three Official Investigator Logs and three W-Engine Power Supplies.
Fresh Arrivals
Look for the following games available to stream in the cloud this week:
Shoppers pondering a new hairstyle can now try styles before committing to curls or a new color. An AI app by Ulta Beauty, the largest specialty beauty retailer in the U.S., uses selfies to show near-instant, highly realistic previews of desired hairstyles.
GLAMlab Hair Try On is a digital experience that lets users take a photo, upload a headshot or use a model’s picture to experiment with different hair colors and styles. Used by thousands of web and mobile app users daily, the experience is powered by the NVIDIA StyleGAN2 generative AI model.
Hair color try-ons feature links to Ulta Beauty products so shoppers can achieve the look in real life. The company, which has more than 1,400 stores across the U.S., has found that people who use the virtual tool are more likely to purchase a product than those who don’t.
“Shoppers need to try out hair and makeup styles before they purchase,” said Juan Cardelino, director of the computer vision and digital innovation department at Ulta Beauty. “As one of the first cosmetics companies to integrate makeup testers in stores, offering try-ons is part of Ulta Beauty’s DNA — whether in physical or digital retail environments.”
Adding Ulta Beauty’s Flair to StyleGAN2
GLAMlab is Ulta Beauty’s first generative AI application, developed by its digital innovation team.
To build its AI pipeline, the team turned to StyleGAN2, a style-based neural network architecture for generative adversarial networks, aka GANs. StyleGAN2, developed by NVIDIA Research, uses transfer learning to generate infinite images in a variety of styles.
“StyleGAN2 is one of the most well-regarded models in the tech community, and, since the source code was available for experimentation, it was the right choice for our application,” Cardelino said. “For our hairstyle try-on use case, we had to license the model for commercial use, retrain it and put guardrails around it to ensure the AI was only modifying pixels related to hair — not distorting any feature of the user’s face.”
Available on the Ulta Beauty website and mobile app, the hair style and color try-ons rely on NVIDIA Tensor Core GPUs in the cloud to run AI inference, which takes around 5 seconds to compute the first style and about a second each for subsequent styles.
The company next plans to incorporate virtual trials for additional hair categories like wigs and is exploring how the virtual hairstyle try-ons could be connected to in-store styling services.
“Stylists could use the tool to show our guests how certain hairstyles will look on them, giving them more confidence to try new looks,” Cardelino said.
Beyond giving customers a new way to interact with Ulta Beauty’s products, these AI-powered virtual try-ons give users a chance to be creative and explore new possibilities for their personal styles.
“Hair and makeup are playful categories,” Cardelino said. “Virtual try-ons are a way to explore options that may be out of a customer’s comfort zone without needing to commit to a physical change.”
Seethe latest workfrom NVIDIA Research, whichhas hundreds of scientists and engineers worldwide, with teams focused on topics including AI, computer graphics, computer vision, self-driving cars and robotics.
Imagine a future in which everyone is empowered to build and use their own AI agents. That future may not be far off, as new software is infused with intelligence through collaborative AI systems that work alongside users rather than merely automating tasks.
In this episode of the NVIDIA AI Podcast, Kanjun Qiu, CEO of Imbue, discusses the rise of AI agents, drawing parallels between the personal computer revolution of the late 1970s and 80s and today’s AI agent transformation. She details Imbue’s approach to building reasoning capabilities into its products, the challenges of verifying the correctness of AI outputs and how Imbue is focusing on post-training and fine-tuning to improve verification capabilities.
And hear more about the future of AI and graphics by tuning in to the CES keynote, delivered by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang live in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 6, at 6:30 p.m. PT.
Time Stamps
1:21 – What are AI agents? And Imbue’s approach to them.
9:00 – Where are AI agents being used the most today?
17:05 – Why building a good user experience around agents requires invention.
26:28 – How reasoning and verification capabilities factor into Imbue’s products.
Zoom is now transforming into an AI-first platform. CTO Xuedong Huang discusses Zoom’s AI Companion 2.0 and the company’s “federated AI” strategy, which aims to integrate multiple large language models to enhance productivity and collaboration.
Roblox is enhancing its colorful online platform with generative AI to improve user safety and inclusivity through features like automated chat filters and real-time text translation. Anupam Singh, VP of AI and growth engineering at Roblox, explores how AI coding assistants are helping creators focus more on creative expression.
Data is crucial for training AI and machine learning systems, and synthetic data offers a solution to the challenges of compiling real-world data. Nathan Kundtz, founder and CEO of Rendered.ai, discusses how his company’s platform generates synthetic data to enhance AI models.
NVIDIA GeForce NOW (@NVIDIAGFN) 
