The artificial intelligence gold rush has a clear winner. Nvidia, the provider of the “picks and shovels” in the form of AI chips, has seen its value skyrocket to $5.05 trillion, becoming the first company ever to cross the $5 trillion mark. This surge is part of a wider US stock market boom, all centered on AI.
The insatiable appetite for Nvidia’s cutting-edge processors is the core reason for its meteoric rise. The company’s value has jumped from $4 trillion to $5 trillion in just three months. CEO Jensen Huang confirmed the high demand, announcing a $500 billion order backlog.
Nvidia’s chips are seen as essential by the tech industry’s biggest players. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is heavily dependent on Nvidia for its expansion, with Nvidia investing $100 billion into the company to build new AI datacenters. The US Department of Energy is also partnering with Nvidia to build seven AI supercomputers.
The company’s influence is also growing in Washington. President Donald Trump, who owns up to $1.3 million in Nvidia stock, has been a vocal proponent. He praised CEO Jensen Huang and suggested he may allow sales of less-powerful chips to China, a move that could unlock even more growth.
While investors celebrate, some economists are sounding a note of caution. The rapid rise has drawn comparisons to past bubbles. The Bank of England and the IMF have both warned that the AI boom could be inflating stock prices to unsustainable levels, risking a future crash.