Nvidia has handed back the position of the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft after its share price fell by more than 3.5% on Thursday. The artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant briefly held the top spot from Tuesday, with a stock market valuation of $3.34tn (£2.64tn). However, Nvidia’s shares fell to $130.78 on Thursday, reducing its value to around $3.22tn, allowing Microsoft to reclaim the title as it held steady at more than $3.3tn.
Nvidia’s rise has been fueled by its dominance in what analysts call the “new gold or oil in the tech sector” – the chips that power AI. Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple – each worth more than $3tn – are in a tight race to be the world’s most valuable company. While Nvidia held the top spot briefly, analysts predict fierce competition between the three technology giants will continue.
“We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and center between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,” Wedbush Securities noted earlier this week.
Nvidia’s stock has surged due to the growing demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The firm also benefited significantly from the Bitcoin mining rush in 2020, which led to a spike in sales of its graphics cards. The rise of Nvidia has been mirrored by the increasing profile of its CEO, Jensen Huang, who has gained considerable popularity, particularly in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him like a rock star.
