Nvidia dethroned Apple on Friday as the world’s most valuable company after a record rise in the stock, fueled by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence chips.

Nvidia’s stock value briefly reached $3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s $3.52 trillion, according to LSEG data.

Nvidia ended the day up 0.8%, with a market value of $3.47 billion, while Apple shares rose 0.4%, valuing the iPhone maker at $3.52 billion dollars.

In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before being overtaken by Microsoft and Apple. The market capitalizations of the technological trio have been neck and neck for several months.

Microsoft’s market value was $3.18 trillion, with the stock up 0.8%.

The Silicon Valley chipmaker is the dominant supplier of processors used in AI computing, and the company has emerged as the big winner in a race between Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and other heavyweights to dominate the technology emerging.

Known since the 1990s as a designer of video game processors, Nvidia’s stock is up about 18% so far in October, with a string of gains after OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced a raise funds of $6.6 billion.

Nvidia and other semiconductor stocks benefited Friday after data storage maker Western Digital reported quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates, boosting optimism about data center demand.

“More companies are now adopting artificial intelligence in their daily tasks and demand remains strong for Nvidia chips,” said Russ Mould, chief investment officer at AJ Bell.

“We are certainly in an ideal situation and as long as we avoid a major economic downturn in the United States, we feel that companies will continue to invest heavily in AI capabilities, creating a tailwind for Nvidia.”

Nvidia shares hit a record high on Tuesday, building on a rebound last week when TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, reported quarterly profit up 54%, beating forecasts, thanks to high demand for chips used in AI.

Meanwhile, Apple is struggling with lukewarm demand for its smartphones. iPhone sales in China fell 0.3% in the third quarter, while sales of phones made by rival Huawei jumped 42%.

Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft are among the tech heavyweights that have helped push Wall Street to record highs this year, with market capitalization neck and neck this year. Graphic: Reuters

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Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft are among the tech heavyweights that have helped push Wall Street to record highs this year, with market capitalization neck and neck this year. Graphic: Reuters