Technology multinational Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable company, dethroning tech heavyweight Microsoft as its high-end processors play a central role in a scramble to dominate artificial intelligence computing.
Shares climbed 3.5 per cent to $US135.58 ($203.60) in the US on Tuesday, local time, lifting its market capitalisation to $US3.335 trillion just days after overtaking Apple to become the second most valuable company.
Microsoft and Apple trailed behind with a stock market value of $US3.317 trillion and $US3.286 trillion respectively, with both seeing their shares dip.
Nvidia’s stunning surge over the past year has become emblematic of a Wall Street frenzy driven by optimism about emerging AI technology.
“It’s Nvidia’s market; we’re all just trading in it,” Steve Sosnick, chief market strategist at Interactive Brokers, said.
Meteoric Wall Street rise
Tuesday’s gain lifted Nvidia’s stock to a record high — nearly tripling this year — and added more than $US110 billion to its market capitalisation, equivalent to the entire value of Lockheed Martin.
The company’s market value expanded from $US1 trillion to $US2 trillion in just nine months in February, while taking just over three months to hit $US3 trillion in June.
