NVIDIA, founded in 1993, became one of the world’s most valuable firms through AI-focused graphics processors.
NVIDIA originally built graphics processing units for computer games and visual computing. Its chips later became central to data centers because they can perform many calculations in parallel, a capability useful for training and operating artificial-intelligence models.
The company’s CUDA programming platform helped developers use NVIDIA hardware for applications beyond graphics. This expanded its role in scientific research, engineering, cloud computing, and machine learning.
NVIDIA’s market capitalization rose sharply as demand for AI infrastructure increased. Market value reflects investor expectations about future earnings as well as present results, so it can rise rapidly when a company becomes strategically important to a major technology trend.