NVIDIA overtakes Microsoft to become world's most valuable company
What's the story
NVIDIA has overtaken Microsoft to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
According to a CNBC report, the AI chip giant's shares rose by 3% to $141.4 on Tuesday, pushing its market value to an astounding $3.45 trillion—just ahead of Microsoft's $3.44 trillion.
This is another milestone in NVIDIA's rapid rise as it continues to dominate the AI hardware space.
Market performance
Surge in demand for AI chips
NVIDIA's stock has surged nearly 24% in the last month, despite concerns over export controls and tariffs.
The company's explosive growth is largely driven by the increasing demand for its AI accelerators—chips that power everything from OpenAI's ChatGPT to major AI infrastructure at Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, Oracle and Elon Musk's xAI.
These tech giants are investing billions into building massive computing clusters that rely on NVIDIA's hardware.
Revenue growth
NVIDIA's Q1 earnings and market cap jump
In its most recent earnings report, NVIDIA posted a revenue of $44.06 billion and an adjusted earnings per share of 96 cents for fiscal Q1.
This marks a whopping 69% year-over-year revenue jump, which is impressive for a company of its size.
The firm's recovery and subsequent upmove over the last two months has added $1 trillion to its market capitalization.
AI infrastructure
Plans to build $500 billion worth of AI systems
NVIDIA's growth is also fueled by its AI chips, which are used by companies like OpenAI.
The firm has plans to build up to $500 billion worth of AI systems in four years, including supercomputers and data centers.
It recently announced it would start making its advanced Blackwell chips in Arizona and is building supercomputer facilities in Texas with a manufacturing area of over one million square feet.
International expansion
World's largest AI data center cluster
In May, NVIDIA announced the 'Stargate UAE' project to build the world's largest cluster of AI data centers outside the US. The first phase will be established in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The company is collaborating with several major firms such as OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank Group and Cisco on this project to provide high-quality AI tools and systems to companies and governments outside the US.