Chipmaker Nvidia has become the first publicly listed company in history to reach a market value of $4 trillion, following a meteoric rise driven by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. (One trillion dollar is roughly Rs 85.5 lakh-crore).
The US-based firm’s shares climbed as much as 2.4 percent to $164 on Wednesday, pushing its total market capitalisation past the $4tn mark—more than triple its valuation just a year ago. This historic milestone makes Nvidia more valuable than any other company globally, including tech titans Apple and Microsoft.
Nvidia first crossed the $1 trillion threshold in June 2023, and its ascent since then has outpaced even the most optimistic forecasts. The company has rebounded nearly 74 percent from its April lows, when global markets were rattled by renewed US tariff threats under President Donald Trump. Despite continued trade tensions, particularly Washington’s export curbs on advanced chips to China, Nvidia’s growth has remained unabated.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives commented, “There is one company in the world that is the foundation for the AI revolution—and that is Nvidia.”
Once known primarily for its graphics cards in a fierce competition with rival AMD, Nvidia has transformed into a key enabler of generative AI, supplying the powerful chips and supporting software needed to run advanced models like ChatGPT. The company’s rapid rise reflects Wall Street’s continued confidence in AI’s long-term potential.
Nvidia reported a staggering $44.1 billion in revenue for the first quarter—up 69 percent from a year ago—along with earnings of 81 cents per share. Its soaring stock has also propelled co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang into the spotlight, earning him comparisons to global celebrities. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently referred to the 61-year-old as “the Taylor Swift of tech,” a nod to Huang’s immense popularity in Taiwan and across the tech world.
As of now, Microsoft and Apple remain the closest contenders, with market capitalisations of around $3.75 trillion and $3.6 trillion respectively. Together, Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft now account for roughly one-fifth of the entire S&P 500 index—Nvidia alone makes up about 7.3 percent.
Looking ahead, analysts believe Nvidia’s historic milestone could be just the beginning. Dan Ives predicts Microsoft will follow Nvidia into the $4 trillion club by the end of summer, and expects the tech bull run to continue. “The AI revolution is the most significant tech trend we’ve seen in 25 years,” he said, “and Nvidia and Microsoft are its poster children.”
With markets at all-time highs and investor appetite for AI-linked firms showing no signs of waning, Nvidia’s $4 trillion valuation may not be the last record it breaks.
