First in History: NVIDIA’s Market Capitalization Tops $5 Trillion

At the U.S. market open on October 29, NVIDIA’s share price advanced more than 5%, driving its intraday market capitalization to $5.13 trillion and making it the first company in history to surpass a $5 trillion valuation.

The rise followed robust signals of AI demand from NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang. At the GTC DC conference on October 28 local time, Huang projected that revenue attributable to Blackwell and Rubin architecture chips in 2025 and 2026 will exceed $500 billion, supported by an installed base of 20 million GPUs. He indicated that this revenue level would equal roughly five times the income produced by Hopper‑architecture chips during 2023–2025.

On architecture progress, Huang presented a Rubin‑based superchip, which the company says achieves 100 PFlops of computing performance—about 100 times that of NVIDIA’s first AI‑specific system, the DGX‑1. Rubin chips are slated to enter production by around this time next year or possibly earlier.

NVIDIA also announced a $1 billion strategic investment in Nokia intended to accelerate innovation in AI‑RAN (radio access network) technologies and to support the evolution from 5G to 6G. The partnership aims to expedite development and deployment of AI‑native mobile networks and AI network infrastructure. Concurrently, NVIDIA introduced the Arc Aerial RAN Computer, an accelerated computing platform designed to support 6G. “We will use 6G and AI to upgrade millions of base stations around the world. This is the first time we can use AI to make wireless communication more efficient,” Huang stated.

In quantum computing, NVIDIA unveiled NVQLink, a technology enabling hybrid simulation between quantum processing units (QPUs) and GPU supercomputers, and reported that 17 distinct quantum computing firms have adopted NVQLink. In robotics and autonomous systems, Huang announced a collaboration with Uber to connect vehicles running on NVIDIA’s DRIVE Hyperion autonomous‑driving development platform to a global network.

For industrial AI deployment, NVIDIA introduced the BlueField‑4 data processor intended to support AI factory operating systems; this processor will be incorporated into Rubin‑architecture product offerings and is scheduled for release in 2026.

NVIDIA’s most recent quarterly results also reflected substantial growth. For the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, ended July 27, 2025, the company reported revenue of $46.743 billion, a year‑over‑year increase of 56%, slightly above market expectations, and GAAP net income of $26.422 billion, up 59% year‑over‑year. Data center revenue for the quarter was $41.1 billion, a 56% year‑over‑year increase, though marginally below analyst forecasts.

As NVIDIA’s share price extended gains, Microsoft and Apple shares also advanced. On October 28, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Apple briefly traded above the $4 trillion market‑cap threshold following the open; at the close Apple’s market value stood at $3.99 trillion and Microsoft’s at $4.03 trillion. At the October 29 open, Apple rose 0.11% to breach $4 trillion in market capitalization, while Microsoft added 0.2% to reach $4.04 trillion.

The rapid appreciation in technology valuations is underpinned by the sustained global momentum behind artificial intelligence, though debate persists over whether the AI surge is producing a speculative bubble. Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, recently expressed that she does not view AI as being in a bubble and considers long‑term valuations of major tech firms to be justified. By contrast, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, cautioned that the current AI enthusiasm may be inflating a bubble among large U.S. technology stocks, noting that approximately 80% of recent market gains are concentrated in major tech names while the broader market has lagged and become highly concentrated.