Nvidia uses the stock ticker NVDA and became a leading market-cap company during the artificial-intelligence boom.
Nvidia designs graphics processing units, or GPUs, and develops the software ecosystem that supports them. GPUs were originally associated with computer graphics and video games, but their ability to perform many calculations in parallel made them highly useful for machine learning and generative artificial intelligence.
Demand for data-center GPUs helped drive a dramatic increase in Nvidia’s revenue, earnings, and share price during the 2020s. Since market capitalization equals share price multiplied by shares outstanding, that share-price growth pushed Nvidia into the top tier of globally valued public companies.
Nvidia is often confused with a semiconductor manufacturer that operates large fabrication plants. It is primarily a fabless chip designer and relies on manufacturing partners for production. Its CUDA software platform is another important part of its competitive position.