.png){kind=logo}
Nvidia's market cap hits $3.45 trillion
AI chip demand fuels record quarterly revenue
Microsoft stays strong, but falls to second
In a historic turn of events, Nvidia has overtaken Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company. This development brings forth the retaking of a title that was briefly held by the chip-making giant earlier this year. On June 3, Nvidia stock jumped close to 3 percent to close at $141.22. This took the market capitalization to a whopping $3.45 trillion, narrowly surpassing Microsoft’s $3.44 trillion.
The announcement is a watershed moment not only for Nvidia but for the technology industry as a whole, highlighting how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the power dynamic between Big Tech.
At the center of Nvidia’s spectacular ascent is the clear leadership role the company has in AI computing. One of Nvidia’s high-performance GPUs is now the industry standard for training big language models (LLMs). This device has been driving AI systems built by tech behemoths such as OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Amazon.
Nvidia reported a record $44.06 billion in revenue in its latest quarter, a mind-boggling 69 percent year-over-year surge, well ahead of Wall Street forecasts. The increase was largely driven by the exploding demand for AI chips, particularly the leader H100 and upcoming Blackwell GPUs.
As the worldwide AI race heats up, Nvidia has taken up a position as the arms trader of this new industrial era. This role involves the company providing the digital muscle needed to drive everything from autonomous cars and generative AI to scientific modeling and hyperscale data centers.
Also Read: NVIDIA Native GeForce NOW App: What's in Store for Steam Deck Users
Though dominant, Nvidia faces threats. US export controls on high-end semiconductors to China may deprive the tech titan of as much as $8 billion in revenue. And though Nvidia today has about 80 percent of the AI chip market, competitors such as AMD and conglomerate technology players like Broadcom and Intel are investing aggressively in their own AI chip initiatives.
In addition, Nvidia’s dominance of the market has attracted more intense regulatory scrutiny. The US Department of Justice is said to be examining the company for possible antitrust abuses, especially regarding how it regulates access to important AI hardware.
Still, at least for the time being, investors seem unbothered. Nvidia stock has risen 24 percent in the last month alone, a testament to robust institutional support for the company’s AI thesis over the long term.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is still a tycoon amongst giants. The firm’s significant investments in AI, specifically its multi-billion-dollar support of OpenAI, have made a significant player of the tech head honcho in cloud-based AI services. Its Azure cloud base is heavily integrated with OpenAI tools, and the company is actively designing its bespoke chips to be less dependent on Nvidia.
However, Microsoft enjoys diversified strength in enterprise software, cloud, and productivity tools, Nvidia’s business is more uniquely dependent on the ongoing explosion of AI, putting it at a disproportionate advantage in today’s investment environment.
Nvidia’s resurgence at the top reflects a larger narrative playing out across the tech world: the AI era is not just coming, the age is already here. Companies that build the infrastructure underpinning this transformation are increasingly viewed as the most critical assets in global markets.
The consequences are enormous. AI is already being integrated into sectors ranging from healthcare and education to logistics and defense. As these technologies advance, the firms facilitating their spread, led by Nvidia, are set to gain enormous benefits.
This accelerated rise also calls for vigilance. With only a handful of companies controlling the AI stack, worries about market concentration, accessibility, and ethical control are becoming increasingly vocal.
Whether Nvidia succeeds in holding its position awaits to be seen. The tech industry is mercurial, and leadership at the pinnacle is temporary. But one thing is certain: Nvidia is no longer merely a chipmaker; it is now a pillar of the AI economy, and its trajectory at present indicates a paradigm change in how value creation occurs in the digital world.
As investors keep placing their bets large on AI, everyone’s attention will stay glued to Nvidia, and to the next act in this unfolding technological revolution.
Also Read: Top Tech News: Nvidia’s $6.5K AI Chip for China and Grammarly’s $1B Boost
