Nvidia hits $5 trillion valuation on AI boom

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 centre of the global artificial intelligence boom.

- NIKET NISHANT RASHIKA SINGH

A smartphone screen shows an Nvidia logo.REUTERS

(REUTERS)

The Wall Street milestone underscores the company’s swift transformation from a niche graphics-chip designer into the backbone of the global Al industry, turning 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 Al 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 chip maker to industry creator,’ said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, which holds shares in the company.