Nvidia became the first public semiconductor company valued above US$1 trillion.
Nvidia crossed the US$1 trillion market-capitalization threshold in May 2023 after its shares surged following a forecast that highlighted booming demand for artificial-intelligence computing. The company designs graphics processors and related computing platforms, while much of its manufacturing is performed by outside foundries.
Nvidia’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, became central to training and running many machine-learning systems. Its earlier leadership in gaming graphics provided technology and software foundations that later proved valuable in data centers and AI applications.
The semiconductor industry includes designers, manufacturers, equipment makers, and foundries, so it is broader than the GPU market alone. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, for example, manufactures chips for many customers rather than operating primarily as a fabless chip designer like Nvidia.