Nvidia Unveils Affordable ‘Jetson Computer’ for Local AI Development

Nvidia launches a $249 Jetson computer, the Orin Nano, designed for hobbyists and developers to run AI applications locally, doubling speed and efficiency.

Nvidia just dropped a game-changer for AI enthusiasts: the Orin Nano, a $249 powerhouse that fits in the palm of your hand. This little beast is not only twice as fast and efficient as its predecessor but also comes at half the price. And get this—it can juggle about 70% more computational tasks. Talk about packing a punch!

Whether you’re a hobbyist tinkering with AI or a developer crafting the next big robot (or industrial gadget), the Orin Nano’s got your back. It lets you run sophisticated apps without being chained to the cloud. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, couldn’t contain his excitement in a YouTube demo, raving about its ability to crunch ‘seventy trillion’ operations every second—all while sipping just 25 watts of power. That’s like running a marathon on a single granola bar.

Originally designed to bring robots to life, Jetson computers are now flexing their muscles with large language models, including Meta’s Llama. Take Sam Altman’s startup, World (yep, the folks behind Worldcoin), for example. They’re using Jetpack modules in their Orb scanners to verify human identities—because, let’s face it, proving you’re not a robot is getting trickier. The latest Orb? It’s sporting an upgraded NVIDIA Jetson module that delivers nearly five times the AI performance, making human verification smoother than a fresh jar of peanut butter.

Think of the Orin Nano as the Swiss Army knife of AI brains—it won’t replace those high-end GPUs (let’s be real), but it’s a massive leap toward making AI development something anyone can dabble in. Startups, hobbyists, and anyone with a curious mind can now dive into AI without breaking the bank. How cool is that?