Nvidia became the world's most valuable company by market capitalization on June 18, 2024, overtaking Microsoft and Apple.
The semiconductor designer’s share price rose as investors anticipated enormous demand for chips used in artificial-intelligence computing. Nvidia’s graphics-processing units, or GPUs, became central components in data centers that train and run large AI models.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 and initially focused on graphics hardware for personal computers and video games. Its CUDA software platform later helped developers use Nvidia GPUs for broader parallel-computing tasks, strengthening the company’s position in AI infrastructure.
Nvidia’s lead at the top was not permanent; market-cap rankings change whenever share prices move. The milestone also followed a ten-for-one stock split in June 2024, which changed the per-share price but not the company’s underlying market capitalization.