US technology company Nvidia, a developer of graphics processors and systems on a chip, emerged as the world’s most valuable company after its shares rose to a record high driven by insatiable demand for its specialised artificial intelligence chips, according to Reuters.
The market value of Nvidia stocks briefly hit $3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s value of $3.52 trillion, according to Financial Markets Infrastructure and Data (LSEG). Stocks of Nvidia and other semiconductor companies rose on Friday after storage maker Western Digital (WDC.O) reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, boosting optimism about data centre demand.
The stock of Nvidia, known since the 1990s as a developer of video game processors, rose about 18 per cent in October. The series of gains came after OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced a $6.6 billion funding round.
On the flip side, Apple is struggling with sluggish demand for its smartphones. Sales of iPhones in China fell 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, while sales of phones made by rival Huawei rose 42 per cent. LSEG reports that Apple is due to release its quarterly results on Thursday, with analysts on average expecting the company’s revenue to rise 5.55 per cent year-on-year to $94.5 billion.
