Nvidia has once again shattered records, becoming the first company in history to reach a market valuation of $5 trillion (£3.8tn), marking a new high point in the era of artificial intelligence dominance on Wall Street. The US-based chip manufacturer, once known mainly for computer graphics hardware, has transformed into the engine powering the global AI boom, sending investors into a frenzy and pushing its stock to unprecedented levels.
The company’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. Having crossed the $1 trillion valuation threshold in June 2023, it needed barely a year to quadruple that figure. Nvidia surpassed the $4 trillion mark just three months ago, and on Wednesday morning its share price jumped as much as 5.6%, trading above $212 amid renewed optimism about its growth in China — a region central to both its profits and global political tensions.
With this milestone, Nvidia has outpaced every other technology company in the world, widening its lead over longtime tech giants and emerging as the single largest beneficiary of the surge in AI-related investment. Its chips are the backbone of generative AI models and data centres, and the company has secured major supply agreements with firms such as OpenAI and Oracle, keeping demand far ahead of supply.
The valuation is so large that it now exceeds the annual GDP of every country on the planet except the United States and China, according to World Bank data. It is also greater than the combined market value of entire sectors of the S&P 500 index. Rivals Microsoft and Apple have recently crossed the $4 trillion milestone as well, reflecting a broader Wall Street rally driven almost entirely by enthusiasm for artificial intelligence technologies. In fact, AI-linked firms are responsible for roughly 80% of the gains in major US indices this year alone.
But with rapid growth has come growing unease. Financial authorities, including the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund, have warned of a potential bubble forming in AI markets. High-profile voices on Wall Street are also urging caution, with JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon saying investors are underestimating economic uncertainty. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, described Nvidia’s valuation as “a sum so vast the human brain can’t properly get a handle on it,” adding that the startling numbers will do little to ease concerns of overheated markets.
Sceptics have also questioned whether soaring valuations are being propped up by what they describe as “financial engineering.” Top AI firms have increasingly poured capital into each other, building complex investment connections. Nvidia itself recently invested $100 billion into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and a major driver of the AI industry’s mainstream breakthrough.
Despite brief setbacks — including a dip in April linked to market jitters over US President Donald Trump’s escalating trade battles — Nvidia’s stock has surged more than 50% in 2025. China remains its largest market, and recent policy shifts have added new layers of uncertainty. Although the US initially blocked Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips to China, Trump lifted the ban in July, imposing instead an unprecedented requirement that the company hand over 15% of its China-based revenue to the US government.
Trump, who is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, told reporters the two leaders will discuss Nvidia’s powerful Blackwell AI processors. The remark fueled fresh investor excitement, further boosting the stock.
Amid the frenzy, Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang has emerged as an icon of the AI age. On Tuesday, he revealed a wave of new partnerships and projected an astonishing $500 billion in AI chip orders through next year. As long as the world continues to scale up artificial intelligence, Wall Street shows no sign of losing faith in the company driving the revolution.
,){kind=link}