It was still early when Takuya Nakayama left Blizzard.
Mike Morhaime escorted him to the parking lot.
"Let us know in advance next time," Mike said. "We can prepare for your visit."
"No need to prepare," Takuya replied, walking toward his parked car. "I just wanted to see your team in its natural state. If you prepared, I wouldn't get an accurate picture. This visit has been very insightful—you're on the right path."
Mike stood there, understanding the true purpose of this visit.
Takuya slipped into the car and waved goodbye to Mike.
The day after leaving Irvine, Takuya arrived in Santa Clara.
NVIDIA's offices weren't large, but they were neater than the Irvine location—at least the hallways weren't littered with takeout boxes.
The receptionist immediately stood up when he heard the visitor was from Sega, practically running to announce him.
Jensen Huang emerged quickly, his handshake firmer than during their previous meeting.
This was understandable.
Sega's investment last year had significantly improved NVIDIA's financial standing. Without it, they might have had to concede far more during the negotiations with STMicroelectronics.
The final agreement stipulated that STMicroelectronics would receive a license to produce a simplified version of the NV1, which they would sell under their own brand, the STG2000, paying NVIDIA one million dollars annually.
The exclusivity clause had been dropped, and just this one change had taken nearly two weeks to negotiate.
One million dollars might sound like a lot, but in the semiconductor industry, it was practically pocket change.
Still, regaining non-exclusive rights at least kept the door open.
"Come in and sit down. I'll have someone make some coffee," Jensen Huang said, leading Takuya Nakayama into the conference room. He casually pushed a stack of documents off the table into a corner. "I know you wouldn't come all this way for nothing. So, what's on your mind?"
Nakayama settled into a chair and glanced at the NV1 architecture diagrams plastered on the walls.
"When is the NV1 scheduled for release?"
"May," Huang replied. "The final testing and production preparations are well underway."
"Is everything on track?"
"The overall direction is solid, but we're still refining the details," Huang said with the relaxed confidence of someone who knows their stuff. "Do you want the specific data?"
"No need," Takuya Nakayama waved his hand. "I'm not here to audit the accounts."
Jensen Huang raised an eyebrow but remained silent, waiting for Nakayama to continue.
"I don't plan to comment on the NV1," Nakayama said bluntly. "The contract is signed, production is underway—it's too late to change anything. I just want to discuss NVIDIA's strategy after May."
"You mean..."
"The triangle rendering framework."
The conference room fell silent for a few seconds.
Jensen Huang set down his pen and leaned back in his chair.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside, muffled voices drifting through the wall before fading away.
"The NV1 uses quad rendering, as you know," Nakayama continued. "I understand your reasoning for choosing this path. But in PC graphics, Microsoft and Silicon Graphics are both committed to triangle rendering. That doesn't mean your approach is wrong, but once a market standard takes hold, it's incredibly difficult to reverse course."
Huang didn't immediately refute him, simply watching and waiting for him to elaborate.
"My idea is simple," Takuya Nakayama said. "We'll pursue two paths. You continue working on NV1—don't abandon it—but at the same time, start research and development on a triangle rendering framework product. Get the architectural concepts down first. We don't need to formally launch it immediately, but we do need to start moving on it."
"That will require personnel," Jensen Huang replied. "My entire team is currently focused on NV1."
"I know," Nakayama acknowledged. "I'm not expecting immediate results. I'm fully aware that you still need time to finish the NV1 drivers and ensure Windows compatibility. I'm not in a hurry. Just finish up NV1, patch those remaining holes, and then make triangle rendering a priority."
Huang picked up his pen and jotted down a few words in his notebook without speaking.
"Also," Nakayama added, "I'm not just dangling a carrot here. Sega's Model 2 and Jupiter both use triangle rendering, and their future arcades and next-generation consoles will likely continue to do so. While that's still a bit down the road, it's wise to prepare early. If you develop a viable solution, Sega will definitely adopt it. This order alone could provide a significant cash flow boost for NVIDIA."
This was the core issue.
Jensen Huang stopped writing, looked up, and asked, "Are you trying to find me clients?"
"I'm telling you, the clients are already there," Takuya Nakayama said. "You know how well Jupiter is selling. Sega isn't short on cash, but I can't early-approve a purchase order for a supplier that lacks any R&D reserves. Once you have some preliminary research results, I can have Sega sign a phased development and procurement agreement with NVIDIA for a full suite of graphics display chips."
There was no sugarcoating. The message was clear: If you have the technical reserves, I have a reason to keep investing resources in you.
Jensen Huang closed his notebook.
"When you invested, you gave me voting rights. I've never forgotten that," he said. "Frankly, at the time, I thought Sega was just diversifying its investment risk. I never expected you to stay so quiet."
"What was I supposed to do?" Takuya Nakayama poured himself a cup of coffee. "Do you think I could actually make chips?"
Jensen Huang smiled.
This was the first relaxed moment between the two men all day.
"Alright," Jensen Huang said, "I'll arrange the preliminary research for the triangle rendering framework. The NV1 team is tied up for now, so I'll bring in two outside experts with deep knowledge of low-level architecture to get the conceptual validation done. As for when we'll officially greenlight it, that depends on the market response after NV1 launches. Give me some time."
"I can wait," Takuya Nakayama said, "but one thing—don't wait until the market has you backed against a wall to act. By then, the cost might be ten times higher than it is now."
Jensen Huang didn't nod, but he wrote that sentence in his notebook, right below the earlier words.
Sometimes, you can't put a price on a single sentence in the moment.
They chatted for a while longer, their conversation circling around the fringes of technology and market dynamics.
Jensen Huang had his own way of judging the industry, not the type to jump on every rumor. Once he'd settled on a direction, he wasn't easily swayed.
But he wasn't arrogant either. He listened intently and, after pausing to think, would ask specific, probing questions.
An interesting man.
As they were leaving, Takuya Nakayama ran into two engineers in the hallway, cradling a development board in their arms as if it were something precious. They walked on, discussing in hushed tones.
"NV1?" Takuya Nakayama asked Jensen Huang, who was walking beside him.
"A test board," Jensen Huang replied. "This batch just finished running last night. They're reporting the data today."
Takuya Nakayama glanced at the two engineers and said nothing more.
The fate of NV1 might already be sealed.
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