Nvidia became the first chip designer to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Nvidia crossed the $1 trillion threshold in May 2023 as investors responded to surging demand for its graphics processors and data-center technology. The company was founded to develop graphics-processing units, or GPUs, for demanding visual computing.
GPUs later became important for artificial intelligence because they can perform many calculations in parallel. Nvidia’s CUDA software platform also helped developers use its hardware for scientific computing, machine learning, and other applications.
Nvidia is sometimes described simply as a chip manufacturer, but it primarily designs processors and platforms while using outside foundries to fabricate chips. Its rapid market-cap growth reflected expectations surrounding generative artificial intelligence and data-center investment.