A US-headquartered artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker has overtaken Apple to become the second most valuable company in the world, Reuters reports. Microsoft remains in the top slot.
A 5.2 percent hike in Nvidia’s share earlier this week resulted in a valuation of US$3.012 trillion. That pushed it above Apple’s valuation of US$3.003 trillion but below Microsoft’s valuation of US$3.15 trillion.
Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer at the US investment advisory firm Longbow Asset Management, said it was a “foregone conclusion” that Nvidia would eventually overtake Microsoft, too.
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“Nvidia is making money on AI right now, and companies like Apple and Meta are spending on AI,” he said. Meta is the world’s 7th most valuable company.
Eight of the 10 most valuable companies are US headquartered, with only oil and gas company Saudi Aramco and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company based elsewhere.
So far in 2024, Nvidia’s stock has soared by 147 percent. The company’s Taiwan-born CEO, Jensen Huang, has been extensively covered on Taiwanese TV this week – and he was mobbed by attendees at Taipei’s Computex tech trade fair on 4 June. The 61-year-old has been described as “like a pop star” and “such an inspiration” by his fans in Taiwan, though according to Reuters he keeps a low profile in Silicon Valley. Huang founded Nvidia in 1993.
