Nvidia briefly became the world's most valuable company on June 18, 2024, after its market capitalization passed Microsoft's.
Nvidia's share price surged as investors anticipated continuing demand for its graphics processing units, which are widely used to train and run artificial-intelligence systems. Its market value reached approximately $3.34 trillion during that trading session, putting it ahead of Microsoft and Apple.
The company was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. It originally became known for graphics processors used in personal computers and video games, then expanded into data-center computing and AI acceleration.
Nvidia's lead was temporary because market capitalization changes whenever share prices move. The episode nevertheless illustrated how quickly expectations about AI infrastructure could reorder the largest companies in global equity markets.