Nvidia introduces device aimed at small companies, hobbyists for AI use

Nvidia said Tuesday that it was introducing a $249 version of its Jetson computer for artificial intelligence applications, half the price of its predecessor, to attract more hobbyists and small companies.

- Yang Jie

The Jetson computers are essentially portable brains, mostly designed to allow developers of robots, industrial automation and other hardware to run sophisticated AI computations directly without connecting to a remote data center.

Nvidia's main customers are big companies and AI startups that spend hundreds of millions or billions of dollars on hardware to train and operate their AI models.

With its Jetson lineup, the company is making a play for accessibility, pitching the low-cost devices to small companies, hobbyists and students who want to try creating new products that integrate AI functions.