Nvidia became the world’s most valuable semiconductor company by market capitalization in 2023.
Nvidia’s share price surged as investors recognized the importance of its graphics-processing units for artificial intelligence and accelerated computing. In May 2023, the company’s valuation briefly moved above $1 trillion, making it one of the small group of public companies to reach that level. Its market value later surpassed other major chip businesses.
The company began as a graphics-chip designer for personal computers and became especially influential in gaming. Its CUDA software platform helped developers use Nvidia processors for general-purpose parallel computing, which became important in machine learning and data-center applications.
A common mix-up is treating Nvidia as a chip manufacturer in the same way as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Nvidia primarily designs chips and platforms, while TSMC manufactures semiconductors for many customers. Nvidia’s rise therefore illustrates how a company can achieve enormous market capitalization through chip design, software, and demand for AI infrastructure.