In a milestone that underscores the scale of the artificial intelligence boom sweeping global markets, Nvidia has become the world’s first company to hit a $5 trillion (five lakh-crore US dollars) market capitalisation, driven by relentless investor demand for AI-focused technology stocks.
The Silicon Valley-based chipmaker reached the record valuation just three months after it first crossed the $4 trillion mark — an extraordinary pace of growth even by tech industry standards.
Nvidia’s valuation now exceeds the gross domestic product (GDP) of India, Japan and the United Kingdom, according to IMF data, highlighting how AI’s surge has concentrated enormous value in a handful of US technology firms.
The company’s shares touched $207.86 in early Wednesday trading, taking its market capitalisation to about $5.05 trillion with 24.3 billion shares outstanding. The rise comes as the US stock market continues to post record highs this week, buoyed by investor euphoria around AI and data-driven innovation.
Nvidia’s explosive growth holds significant implications for India’s technology and semiconductor ambitions. The company already supplies high-performance GPUs to major Indian firms working in cloud computing and AI research, including partnerships with Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms and Tata Group’s AI initiatives.
As India pushes forward with its Semicon India programme and domestic chip manufacturing plans, Nvidia’s success story could both inspire and caution policymakers about the risks of overreliance on global supply chains and speculative AI valuations.
Nvidia’s dominance in producing advanced chips that power AI software and data centres remains the single biggest factor behind its stock surge since early 2023. On Tuesday, CEO Jensen Huang revealed that the company had received $500 billion in chip orders, while announcing a series of high-profile collaborations — including a $1 billion investment in Nokia to jointly develop 6G technology and a new partnership with Uber on robotaxis.
The firm is also working with the US Department of Energy to build seven new AI supercomputers, further reinforcing its central role in the next generation of computing infrastructure.
Last month, Nvidia announced a $100 billion investment in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to expand AI data centre capacity by at least 10 gigawatts. OpenAI, in turn, relies heavily on Nvidia’s chips to power its rapidly scaling operations, underscoring the deep interdependence driving the AI ecosystem.
US President Donald Trump has emerged as one of Nvidia’s most vocal supporters, calling Huang an “incredible guy” during a speech in South Korea on Wednesday. Trump has hinted that his administration may approve the sale of a lower-end version of Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chip to China — a move that could further lift the company’s stock price. Financial disclosures show Trump himself owns up to $1.3 million worth of Nvidia shares.
Nvidia’s meteoric rise has invited comparisons to the smartphone revolution that followed Apple’s launch of the first iPhone 18 years ago. Apple was the first company to cross the $1 trillion, $2 trillion and $3 trillion valuation milestones — benchmarks Nvidia has now raced past in record time.
However, central bankers and economists are warning of a potential AI asset bubble. Officials at the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund have cautioned that tech stock valuations inflated by AI optimism may be detached from underlying business performance.
