Today, NVIDIA has ascended to become the world's most valuable company, surpassing Apple. This shift profoundly underscores the growing dominance of the artificial intelligence sector.

On Tuesday, NVIDIA's market capitalization surged by nearly 3%, reaching $3.43 trillion and successfully overtaking Apple's $3.4 trillion valuation. Notably, NVIDIA's stock price has nearly tripled so far in 2024, closing at $139.91 on Tuesday, despite a slight dip in after-hours trading.

Looking back to 2023, NVIDIA experienced explosive growth, emerging as the primary supplier of graphics processing units (GPUs) essential for computer AI operations. This remarkable expansion resulted in the chip manufacturer's revenues doubling over the past five quarters.

Earlier this year, NVIDIA successfully joined the ranks of companies with a $3 trillion market capitalization, standing alongside Apple and Microsoft. Notably, in June, the AI firm briefly overtook Apple to become the world's most valuable company, although it later fell back to the second position.

Apple, the first company to reach $1 trillion and $2 trillion in market capitalization, has been diligently expanding its presence in the AI boom. Although NVIDIA dominates GPU production, Apple's stock has risen over 20% this year, and it recently launched the Apple Intelligence feature on iPhones. Apple claims that Apple Intelligence offers a more useful and private AI implementation tailored specifically for the iPhone. However, due to the relatively slow integration of AI into its products, Apple has secured fewer chips for driving AI innovation compared to some of its largest competitors.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA benefits from investments by major tech companies in its AI infrastructure, which is crucial for running AI models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. As the world's third-largest company, Microsoft, with a market cap of approximately $3.1 trillion, has remained a primary customer of NVIDIA GPUs, owing to significant advancements in its own AI endeavors.

A few days after Intel, another heavyweight tech company, was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NVIDIA successfully surpassed Apple. Last week, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that the chip manufacturer would join the Dow Jones Industrial Average before the market opens on Friday, better representing the modern semiconductor industry. This development undoubtedly heightens expectations for NVIDIA's future growth.