GTC 2020 Not Canceled Over Coronavirus, Nvidia Says

Over the last few months, many events around the world have been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak; however, Nvidia is adamant that its GPU Technology Conference (GTC) will go on.

The company stated in an interview with  that "GTC is definitely on, it told CRN. "With the coronavirus, there were some concerns about other events around the world. It's one of our most important events, and we plan to host it, and we believe it will be just as important, if not bigger than the ones we've had one the past."

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GTC is Nvidia's annual conference in San Jose, California, where it showcases developments in GPU technology, unveiling new technologies in both hardware and software. Many of Nvidia's partners also show up as exhibitors to showcase their advancements in research and development, as the show is primarily aimed at a scientific community that uses GPUs for research. 

Nvidia published a page detailing  the precautions it would be taking at the show in consideration of COVID-19: 

• The use of electrostatic sprayers to disinfect high-traffic areas daily.
• Frequent disinfection of all common touch areas, including door handles, knobs, and push bars of all meeting rooms, halls, and access points as well as stair railings, escalators, lecterns, microphones, light switches, trash receptacles, elevator buttons, water stations, and bathroom areas.
• The number of hand sanitizer stations will be significantly increased throughout the convention center.
• Plus other incremental cleanliness steps, including daily employee pre-shift safety meetings.

Additionally, Nvidia also recommended measures for attendees to take to ensure hygiene. It said  will be recording all sessions, so that attendees who get ill can watch them remotely.

Given that it's time for Nvidia to unveil its new GPU architecture, we're expecting CEO Jensen Huang to unveil the Ampere GPU architecture during  his keynote on March 23. 

However, there's still reason to be skeptical. Mobile World Congress' (MWC's) organizers were also insistent that the show would go on right up until 12 days before its scheduled start.