Nvidia’s 2024 market-value surge was closely associated with demand for graphics processors used in generative AI.
Nvidia designs graphics processing units, or GPUs, that can perform the parallel calculations required by modern artificial-intelligence systems. In 2024, demand for its data-center products helped drive a dramatic increase in revenue, earnings expectations, and share price, lifting its market capitalization into the top tier of global companies.
The company was founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem. It first became widely known for graphics hardware used in personal computers and video games, then expanded into professional visualization, data centers, and accelerated computing.
Nvidia does not manufacture every chip in its own factories. Like many semiconductor designers, it relies heavily on manufacturing partners while developing chip architectures, software, and platforms. Its CUDA software ecosystem became an important complement to its hardware.