NVIDIA became the world's most valuable listed company after its 2024 share-price surge tied to artificial intelligence.
NVIDIA briefly overtook Microsoft and Apple in June 2024, reaching the top position by market capitalization. Investors were responding to exceptional demand for the company's data-center graphics processors, which are widely used to train and run artificial-intelligence models.
The company designs chips and the surrounding software ecosystem rather than operating the largest semiconductor factories itself. Much of its manufacturing is carried out by contract foundries, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. NVIDIA's high-value products include accelerated-computing systems that combine processors, networking, and software.
The ranking was temporary because market capitalization changes with every trading session. NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Apple continued to exchange places as their share prices moved. A company's position in a market-cap ranking therefore describes a point in time, not a permanent title.