Nvidia has become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world
Nvidia, a leader in graphics processing and AI, supplies approximately 80% of the artificial intelligence chips utilized in high-end data centers.
Nvidia’s ascent to the summit of the global financial hierarchy marks a historic milestone, surpassing long-reigning giants Microsoft and Apple to claim the title of the world’s most valuable publicly listed company. With a staggering market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, Nvidia edges ahead of Microsoft’s $3.32 trillion and Apple’s $3.29 trillion valuations, underscoring its meteoric rise in the tech sector.
This remarkable achievement comes on the heels of Nvidia’s recent 10-for-1 stock split in June, which adjusted its share price to approximately $135, down from around $1,200 before the split. The strategic move was aimed at enhancing Nvidia’s eligibility for inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a weighted index that favors companies with lower share prices to maintain balance within its benchmark.
Founded in 1991 as a niche gaming company specializing in high-performance graphics cards, Nvidia has evolved into a global powerhouse driving the technological frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). The company’s trajectory was significantly shaped by the boom in demand for its graphics processors during the GPU-mining era of cryptocurrencies, which began around 2010 and concluded with the rise of application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) for cryptocurrency mining.
In the competitive AI landscape, Nvidia’s dominance is undisputed, with its robust graphics processors serving as the backbone for AI development at industry giants such as OpenAI, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. These organizations rely on Nvidia’s cutting-edge technology to bolster their AI systems and infrastructure, cementing Nvidia’s pivotal role in shaping the future of AI.
The fiscal prowess of Nvidia was underscored by its stellar Q1 performance, where it reported a staggering $26 billion in revenue. A significant portion of this revenue, $22.6 billion, was derived from Nvidia’s data center segment, highlighting its pivotal role in powering the digital infrastructure that underpins modern technological advancements.
In response to its formidable market position and buoyant financial results, Nvidia’s visionary founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, announced plans to introduce new generations of artificial intelligence chipsets annually. This ambitious strategy reflects Huang’s conviction that Nvidia is at the vanguard of a modern industrial revolution poised to reshape every sector of the global economy.
Historically, Nvidia had followed a biennial cadence for unveiling its high-end microprocessors. The Ampere architecture debuted in 2020, followed by the Hopper series in 2022, and most recently, the Blackwell architecture in 2024. This accelerated innovation cycle underscores Nvidia’s commitment to maintaining technological leadership and driving the next wave of AI innovation.
As Nvidia continues to redefine the boundaries of technological possibility, its trajectory from a gaming startup to the pinnacle of corporate valuation exemplifies a paradigm shift in the tech industry. With its relentless pursuit of innovation and unwavering market dominance, Nvidia stands poised to shape the future landscape of artificial intelligence and beyond, solidifying its place as a global powerhouse in the digital age.
