Global chipmaker Nvidia closed the day as the world's most valuable publicly traded company. As Pittsburgh has gained attention as a regional hub for artificial intelligence, the presence of the now biggest company in the world is felt.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) topped Microsoft, Apple and both Google shares (GOOGL has voting rights, GOOG does not), bringing its market cap to approximately $3.34 trillion. Currently, shares are worth $135.58, but the company wasn't always this large.
In November of 2012, Nvidia named Carnegie Mellon University a "school of excellence" for the university's work with parallel computing. Shares were worth $0.30. In October of 2018, the two partnered together to research potential uses of AI to aid first responders. Shares were worth $5.48. In April of 2021, the chipmaker partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania to boost AI education for students. Shares were worth $15.41.
But as the artificial intelligence sphere has slowly but rapidly expanded following the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT, so has Nvidia's value. In November of 2022, when GPT released, shares traded for $16.91. In August of 2023, Pittsburgh-based startup Preamble, which develops Software as a Service safeguards for AI models like GPT, was selected by Nvidia to be part of its' business development program. That day, Nvidia shares were worth $44.65. In March of this year the chipmaker announced a collaboration with and investment in Abridge, a provider of AI-powered transcription services for clinicians. On that day shares were valued at $89.39.
Currently, Nvidia is partnered with CMU to help develop curriculum and provide computing access to students. Beyond the partnerships, the chips are used widespread by the broader Pittsburgh AI sector, which has become a leading metro in the field.
But with the widespread use of the chips has led demand to far exceed supply. Because of this, the aforementioned partnerships are highly sought after and valuable, as it guarantees direct access to the technology.
Despite all the success, the company's status at the top faces potential challenges, namely an antitrust probe from the U.S. Department of Justice. Nvidia has not commented publicly on the matter.
