Nvidia is the first company worth $5 trillion, fueled by the AI frenzy

The artificial intelligence giant Nvidia on Wednesday notched yet another historic milestone, becoming the first company to be worth $5 trillion.

The value of Nvidia alone is now worth more than the GDP of every country on earth, except for the United States and China, according to World Bank data.

Three months ago, the company was worth $4 trillion and a little over two years ago, it was worth $1 trillion.

On Wednesday, shares of the company opened up more than 3%.

More than any of its competitors, Nvidia and its record run have become emblematic of an AI investment frenzy that has pushed U.S. stock markets to new highs throughout the year, while making billionaires out of the industry’s top shareholders.

The same run has also raised concerns that AI could be vulnerable to a bubble. Some economists have drawn comparisons between the breakneck growth and enthusiasm of the AI boom and the first internet bubble in the late 1990s.

Nvidia’s latest stock surge comes a day after CEO Jensen Huang held the company’s annual AI conference in Washington, D.C. There, Huang announced a wave of partnerships, investments and deals with companies ranging from the 5G network supplier Nokia to the ride-sharing firm Uber.

Huang also said he expected $500 billion of AI chip orders through next year.

Asked about the exploding values of AI companies on Tuesday and if the sector may be in a so-called bubble, Huang told NBC News that “these companies are generating real revenues” and the products they are selling are “profitable.”

Nvidia’s $5 trillion market cap is also bigger than the combined market values of all of its competitors — AMD, Intel, Broadcom, TSMC, Micron, ASML, Lam Research, Qualcomm and Arm Holdings.

The stock has gained more than 50% this year and more than 1,500% over the last five years. In comparison, the S&P 500 has gained only 17% this year, while the Nasdaq has gained just 23%.

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump added more fuel to Nvidia shares, telling reporters that he would be discussing the company’s Blackwell chip with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday when the two presidents meet in South Korea.

Blackwell is Nvidia’s highest-powered AI chip. Touted by Trump as “super duper,” sales of it to China have been restricted over fears that the Beijing could gain an edge over the U.S. with such powerful hardware.

The Trump administration has at times sent differing signals about its willingness to limit China’s acquisition of advanced AI chips.

“We don’t sell them our best stuff, not our second best stuff, not even our third best,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNBC in July.

Selling China America’s “fourth best” AI technology, however, was “cool” with the administration, he said.