They say it’s lonely at the top, but it sure seems like Nvidia has a lot of supporters.
What happened: Nvidia became the world’s first US$5 trillion company yesterday, as the chipmaker’s shares rose on strong sales and hopes for expanded Chinese market access. It’s now worth over $1 trillion more than Microsoft and Apple, the next-most valuable companies.
- CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia had secured half a trillion dollars in AI chip orders for the next five quarters, while Donald Trump said that its Blackwell chip would be a topic of discussion when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.
Catch-up: As the source of the chips powering the AI revolution (or bubble, depending on who you ask), the chipmaker has staged a meteoric rise. Before ChatGPT’s launch, Nvidia had a market cap of $400 billion, meaning it’s seen a 1,150% jump in its valuation in three years.
Why it matters: This growth is remarkable, but concerning. Nvidia, and the coterie of AI companies it's in bed with, has been responsible for basically all market growth in the U.S. this year. If the line suddenly stops going up, it could trigger economic reverberations globally.
What’s next: Nvidia has other irons in the fire to keep growing. At a keynote address on Tuesday, Huang said the company plans to expand the use of its AI systems for corporate problem-solving and unveiled “the Rosetta Stone connecting quantum and classical supercomputers.”—QH