The co-founder of semiconductor maker Nvidia is funding a futuristic quantum computer system at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and wants to turn New York’s Hudson Valley into a technology powerhouse.
Curtis Priem, 64, has donated more than $75 million to help Albany-area universities obtain IBM computers. This is the first device to be installed on a university campus anywhere in the world. The Wall Street Journal report.
The former technology executive and RPI alumnus aims to establish the area surrounding his Troy-based school as a center for talent and business as quantum computing becomes more mainstream in the coming years. That’s what he said.
“We changed the name of the Hudson Valley to Quantum Valley,” Priem told the Journal. “It’s up to New York to decide if it wants to be a Silicon State and not just a Valley.”
This fast-growing technology uses subatomic quantum bits (“qubits”) to process data much faster than traditional binary computers. These devices are expected to play a key role in the development of advanced AI systems.
Priem reportedly plans to provide a whopping $15 million a year to rent computers housed in a former chapel on RPI’s campus.
RPI President Martin Schmidt told the newspaper that the school will begin incorporating the equipment into the curriculum and ensure that students have access to it.
Representatives for IBM and RPI did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
An electrical engineer by trade, Priem co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with current CEO Jensen Huang and Chris Malakowski. He served as the company’s chief technology officer until his retirement in 2003.
After retiring, Priem sold most of his shares and used the money to establish a charitable foundation.
He is RPI’s vice president and reportedly donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the university.
Nvidia’s value has soared as various tech companies rely on the company’s computer chips to fuel the race to develop artificial intelligence.
The company’s stock price rose 95% in January alone, to nearly $942 per share. Nvidia’s market capitalization exceeds $2.3 trillion, making it the third most valuable company in the world after Microsoft and Apple.
November 2023 Forbes estimates If he hadn’t sold most of his Nvidia stock, Priem would have become one of the richest people in the world with a personal fortune of $70 billion.
