SAN FRANCISCO, California: Nvidia has become the world's first company to hit a US$5 trillion market valuation, cementing its place at the center of the artificial intelligence revolution that has transformed global tech markets.

The milestone comes just three months after Nvidia crossed the $4 trillion mark, underscoring how investor enthusiasm for AI has fueled one of the fastest rises in corporate history. Shares closed on October 29 at $207.04, giving the Silicon Valley chipmaker a market cap of $5.03 trillion with 24.3 billion shares outstanding.

That valuation now exceeds the gross domestic product of Japan, India, or the United Kingdom, according to International Monetary Fund data, a striking reflection of the scale of the AI boom.

Nvidia's dominance stems from its early lead in graphics processing units (GPUs). These chips, once designed for video games, have become the backbone of AI training and deployment, powering tools like ChatGPT and image-generation systems. Demand for its processors has surged as tech giants race to build and operate massive AI models.

CEO Jensen Huang, whose signature leather jacket and stage charisma have become synonymous with Nvidia's rise, brushed aside concerns about a tech bubble. "Generative AI chatbots that were merely interesting a few years ago are now becoming so useful that they will be profitable," he said.

Still, regulators and economists have voiced caution. The Bank of England and International Monetary Fund both warned this month of a potential AI-fueled stock bubble, saying valuations may have outpaced sustainable earnings growth.

The company's rapid ascent has been matched by a wave of announcements signaling its ambitions far beyond chips. On October 28, Nvidia revealed $500 billion in new chip orders, a robotaxi partnership with Uber, and a $1 billion investment in Nokia to collaborate on 6G development. It also plans to build seven new AI supercomputers with the U.S. Department of Energy.

In September, Nvidia pledged to invest $100 billion in OpenAI to boost computing capacity for the maker of ChatGPT, including adding 10 gigawatts of new AI data centers. The company also plans a $5 billion investment in Intel as part of a strategic partnership to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.

Huang is in South Korea this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met amid escalating trade tensions over technology exports. Trump had said he would discuss Nvidia's chips with Xi during the talks.

In August, the Trump administration struck a deal with Nvidia and AMD to lift export restrictions on advanced chips to China in exchange for a 15 percent revenue share, despite concerns that China's military and intelligence services could use the chips.