Nvidia became the first publicly listed semiconductor designer to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Nvidia crossed the threshold in May 2023 after investors drove its share price sharply higher. The surge reflected demand for its graphics-processing units, which are widely used for artificial-intelligence training and other high-performance computing workloads.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. It began with a focus on graphics processors for computer games, but its CUDA software ecosystem helped make its hardware useful for scientific computing and machine learning.
Nvidia is sometimes described simply as a chip manufacturer, although much of its business centers on designing processors and platforms while relying on manufacturing partners. Its valuation can rise or fall rapidly because it reflects expectations about future growth, not just current sales.