Nvidia Corp’s relentless rally has propelled the semiconductor giant’s market capitalization over its mega-cap tech peers, helping it clinch the title of the world’s most valuable company as the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) applications continues to soar.
The stock rose 3.5 percent to close at US$135.58 on Tuesday, putting the company’s market value at about US$3.3 trillion and catapulting it over those of Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc.
The top stocks have jockeyed all month for the pole position, with Nvidia finally edging past its big-tech peers.
Photo: AFP
Earlier in the month, Nvidia capped Apple by market value for the first time since 2002 and the two went back and forth in rankings in the past few days. Last week, Apple also overtook Microsoft to trade in the top spot briefly.
The ranking is yet another reminder that AI is the top focus of many investors. Nvidia is seen as the biggest and earliest beneficiary of the technology as it dominates the market with its highly sought-after chips that help power data centers running complex computing tasks required by AI applications.
Demand for its H100 accelerators is surging and helped drive up the chipmaker’s sales by more than 125 percent last year.
Microsoft is also seen as an early AI winner given its investment and partnership with OpenAI, which created the ChatGPT application.
Shares of Apple this week rallied after the iPhone maker finally unveiled its plan for using the technology.
“We believe over the next year the race to US$4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and center between Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft,” Wedbush Securities Inc analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note.
Nvidia’s surging stock price has made its cofounder and chief executive officer, Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), one of the world’s richest people.
His net worth has climbed nearly US$75 billion since the beginning of the year to US$119 billion, putting him in 12th place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
That is the biggest gain among his billionaire peers.
Investors, alongside Huang, say that Nvidia is more than just a chipmaker.
“They’re not just selling chips, they’re selling systems,” Baron Capital Inc vice president and portfolio manager Michael Lippert said in an interview, citing the company’s proprietary software and development ecosystem.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS