Nvidia became the first semiconductor company valued above $3 trillion in 2024.
Nvidia crossed a $3 trillion market capitalization in June 2024, driven by intense investor demand for its graphics processors and data-center systems used in artificial-intelligence computing. The company’s shares rose sharply as cloud providers and technology firms expanded AI infrastructure spending.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. It initially became known for graphics processing units, or GPUs, used in computer games, but those chips also proved highly effective for parallel computing and machine-learning workloads.
Nvidia’s rise illustrates why market-cap rankings can change quickly in emerging technology cycles. It is a chip designer and platform company, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is primarily a contract manufacturer. Those businesses occupy different parts of the semiconductor industry.