When Nvidia's market capitalisation briefly crossed the $1 trillion mark in May, it was predictably catapulted into the spotlight, joining an ultra-elite group of companies flush with cash.
While that round was brief, the California-based chip maker is again enjoying trillion-dollar status as its stock continues to surge, aided by the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence.
Here's everything you need to know about the company and the reasons behind its latest market surge.
When was Nvidia founded?
Nvidia traces its beginnings to April 5, 1993 – years before the dot-com boom and bubble – when Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem founded the company and sought to bring 3D graphics to gaming and multimedia.
At the time, PCs were still running Microsoft Windows 3.1, the original Sony PlayStation was still more than a year away, Siemens had not yet released the S10, the first smartphone with a coloured display, and the graphics world looked completely different from what it is today.
Jensen Huang's journey
The journey of Nvidia president and chief executive Mr Huang – born Jen-Hsun Huang in Taiwan in 1963 – did not start smoothly.
His family moved to Thailand when he was four, then had to emigrate with his brother to the US five years later to escape conflict.
He went on to obtain an electrical engineering degree from the University of Oregon and later pursued a master's programme at Stanford, from where he graduated from in 1992 – one year before he co-founded Nvidia.
He has a net worth of more than $39 billion, putting him among the top 35 billionaires globally and among the top five wealthiest Asians, according to both Bloomberg and Forbes. He owns a 3.6 per cent stake in Nvidia, which went public in 1999.
A little-known fact about Mr Huang is that between 1984 to 1985 he worked for Advanced Micro Devices – which would one day become Nvidia's main competition in the chip market.
With the rise of the metaverse, Mr Huang led Nvidia last year to create the Omniverse platform, which it says will play a "foundational role" in the building of the next stage of the internet.
Omniverse is a computing platform that lets users develop Universal Scene Description-based 3D workflows and applications in a faster way, boosted by AI and using little to no code.
For his contributions and efforts, Mr Huang has received a number of accolades, including being named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2021.
What is Nvidia's claim to fame?
The company is credited with popularising the graphics processing unit, the key component we all know as GPU.
While the term GPU has been used since the 1980s and existed as graphics circuits for arcade games in the 1970s, it wasn't until 1999, when Nvidia released the heavily-updated GeForce 256, marketing it as “the world's first GPU”, that the term took off.
That would not only make Nvidia and its GeForce line one of the best in GPUs, but it would also forever link the GPU to the company. That's a big – and game-changing – claim.
A GPU is a specialised chip that accelerates graphics performance and image processing. It plays a huge role in ensuring that content is at its best, especially as smartphones and computers become more powerful and user-centric.
Nvidia's idea kicked off a race in the graphics-heavy gaming market and placed it head-to-head with the likes of MSI, Asus, Intel and AMD, which makes GeForce rival Radeon.
Nvidia followed that up with its RTX technology in 2018, the first GPU capable of ray-tracing, a rendering technique that simulates the physical behaviour of light.
Why is Nvidia hot right now?
The company's performance has received a boost since it has combined its expertise in chips with arguably the hottest trend in tech right now, generative AI.
Nvidia says its new top-of-the-line H100 processor has the power of more than 130 CPUs, “enabling researchers to tackle challenges that were once unsolvable”.
This has also topped tests on MLPerf, the first industrywide AI benchmark, “validating itself as the world’s most powerful, scalable, and versatile computing platform”.
And enterprises have been reportedly responding pretty well: for example, Chinese tech majors, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and TikTok owner ByteDance have placed orders worth $5 billion for Nvidia's AI chips, the Financial Times recently reported.
In June, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison said the company was buying billions of dollars worth of Nvidia chips to strengthen its position in generative AI and cloud computing.
More orders are expected, but if this is any indication, Nvidia is set to maintain its lead in the now hotly-contested market.
How much has Nvidia's stock soared?
At the close of trading on Tuesday, the Nasdaq-listed company's share price was at $439.40 – up more than three times year-to-date, about 133 per cent higher in the past 12 months and up more than sevenfold in the last five years.
That also put its market capitalisation at about $1.09 trillion as of Tuesday, joining Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet as the only US companies that currently boast a 13-figure cap. Tesla and Facebook owner Meta Platforms have both previously surpassed that mark.
For comparison, the share price of the six aforementioned tech giants in 2023 have grown 41.8 per cent, 34.3 per cent, 60.4 per cent, 45.6 per cent, 115.5 per cent and 142 per cent, respectively.
Among its peers, Nvidia is also dominating: while Intel's stock is up 30 per cent year-to-date, it is down about 4 per cent in the past 12 months and more than a quarter in the last five years.
AMD, meanwhile, is up 74.9 per cent in 2023, 11.1 per cent in the past 12 months and has surged 463 per cent in the last five years.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
SHAITTAN
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
