3dfx Interactive

3dfx's 2000 sale to NVIDIA ended the graphics card pioneer that created the Voodoo chipset. The company that popularized 3D gaming graphics was outmaneuvered by NVIDIA's faster product cycles. 3dfx's acquisition of STB Systems brought manufacturing in-house but created complexity. When the Voodoo 5 arrived late and underperforming, customers switched to GeForce. NVIDIA bought 3dfx's assets for $70 million - pennies on the peak valuation.