NVIDIA: From Tiny Startup to Trillion Dollar Company
What This Means for Tech Founders in the AI Era.
In regular market trading on July 9, 2025, NVIDIA’s market cap (i.e., the value of all of its outstanding stock) reached an astounding $4 trillion dollars. It ultimately ended the trading day with a market cap of $3.97 trillion, setting a record for the most valuable company (by market cap) in the world.
For perspective on how large a number this is, take a look at the chart below (Country GDP data from Investopedia):
If NVIDIA was a country and its market cap was equivalent to GDP, it would be the 6th most valuable economy in the world.
According to Reuters, “NVIDIA is now worth more than the combined value of the Canadian and Mexican stock markets, according to London Stock Exchange Group data, and it exceeds the total value of all publicly listed companies in the UK. NVIDIA accounts for 7.3% of the S&P 500. Apple and Microsoft account for around 7% and 6%, respectively.”
NVIDIA has been a valuable company for a long time. It started in 1993 with a focus on developing computer chips for gaming and multimedia markets. Over the next 29 years, they invented and brought to market GPUs, CUDA architecture, and in the last 10+ years, incredibly robust computer chips capable of processing enormous amounts of data used by AI applications.
Startup founders should pay close attention to NVIDIA to understand the types of companies it has acquired and what type of companies it might acquire in the future. As of April 27, 2025, NVIDIA had $53.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities listed on its balance sheet. According to Tracxn.com, NVIDIA has acquired 28 companies, seven of whom were acquired in 2024 alone. Most acquisitions were in AI infrastructure and IT services.
It’s an incredible to live in an era being transformed by AI and to witness the growth of a company like NVIDIA that’s building the infrastructure for this new innovation. Whether or not NVIDIA remains the most value company of all time is not that important. In my opinion, what matters more is how the company’s financial success and upcoming technological advancements will influence the way we work, play, and dream about the future.
Cheers -KM
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