US computer-chip company Nvidia Corp has become the world’s second most valuable company. The company’s market cap reached US$3.01 trillion on Wednesday. In terms of market cap, Nvidia Corp has also surpassed iPhone maker Apple. Apple’s shares rose 0.8% and its market cap reached $3.003 trillion.
Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company have surged about 147 percent this year, adding about $1.8 trillion to its value, as demand for chips used to power artificial intelligence tasks has skyrocketed. On Wednesday, shares rose 5.2 percent to close at a record $1,224.40, giving Nvidia a market value of more than $3 trillion.
Nvidia had beaten Apple earlier too
The last time Nvidia’s valuation was higher than Apple’s was in 2002. At that time, both companies were worth less than $10 billion.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company plans to upgrade its so-called AI accelerator every year, Bloomberg reported. His wealth rose by more than $5 billion to $107.4 billion as the stock gained on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The rise of generic AI is a new industrial revolution, and Nvidia hopes to play a major role in it as the technology is transferred to personal computers, Huang told attendees in a keynote speech at National Taiwan University.
The company has arguably been the biggest beneficiary of the massive increase in AI spending, which helped it achieve the title of the world’s most valuable company.
Still behind Microsoft
Even though the chipmaker has overtaken Apple Inc., it still trails Microsoft Corp. in terms of market value. But the surge in shares has Wall Street thinking Nvidia will soon overtake it as well.
Apple has seen volatility in the technology giant’s shares this year under pressure from declining iPhone demand in China and EU fines concerns. However, the company’s shares have recently turned positive for 2024 as investor sentiment towards the iPhone maker is gradually improving.