Nvidia became the first publicly traded semiconductor maker to exceed a $1 trillion market capitalization in 2023.
The valuation surge followed extraordinary demand for Nvidia’s graphics-processing units, or GPUs, used in artificial intelligence systems and data centers. Investors viewed the company as a leading supplier of the computing hardware needed to train and run large AI models.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. It began with a strong focus on graphics chips for personal computers and video games before expanding into professional visualization, accelerated computing, and machine learning.
The milestone did not mean Nvidia manufactured every chip itself. Like many major semiconductor designers, Nvidia relies on manufacturing partners, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, while concentrating on chip architecture, software, and platforms.