Nvidia hits $5-trillion market valuation as global AI boom powers meteoric rise

NVIDIA made history on Wednesday as the first company to reach $5 trillion in market value, powered by a rally that has cemented its place at the center of the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

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The Wall Street milestone underscores the company’s swift transformation from a niche graphics-chip designer into the backbone of the global AI industry, turning Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang into a Silicon Valley icon and making its advanced chips a flashpoint in the tech rivalry between the US and China.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Nvidia’s shares have climbed 12-fold as the AI frenzy propelled the S&P 500 to record highs, igniting a debate on whether frothy tech valuations could lead to the next big bubble.

The new milestone, coming just three months after Nvidia breached the $4-trillion mark, would surpass the total cryptocurrency market value.

“Nvidia hitting a $5 trillion market cap is more than a milestone; it’s a statement, as Nvidia has gone from chipmaker to industry creator,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, which holds shares in the company.

“The market continues to underestimate the scale of the opportunity, and Nvidia remains one of the best ways to play the AI theme.”