What began as a darling of the gaming community is now the power plant of the AI revolution. In a milestone that sets it at the epicenter of the artificial intelligence revolution, Nvidia has become the first public company to achieve a $4 trillion market capitalization. The shareholders are quite hooked, the competitors are definitely spooked, while the rest are just wondering how this chipmaker ended up as the star of the whole digital economy. U.S chipmaker Nvidia reached the milestone on Wednesday after its shares rose 2.5% in early trading, hitting an intraday record high that shocked Wall Street and the international technology community.

The Revamped Chipmaker

Nvidia’s climb has been nothing less than remarkable. It has risen about 20% this year alone due to its pivotal role in fueling AI infrastructure. Its graphics processing units (GPUs), which used to be cherished solely by PC game enthusiasts, are now the main technology. It is powering AI model training and cloud services consumed by tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

The firm’s growth path can be dated back to May 2023, when it initially reached the $1 trillion level. A year later, it has more than multiplied that figure, this is something that no other company has managed to achieve so quickly. With $44.1 billion in quarterly revenue through April, up 69% year over year, Nvidia’s numbers don’t lag behind its valuation.

Nvidia’s Role in the AI Boom

At the core of Nvidia’s superiority is its evident position as the underlying provider of AI infrastructure. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said,

“There is one company in the world that is the foundation for the AI Revolution and that is Nvidia”.

The recent release of the Blackwell Ultra chip, which is optimized to run complex reasoning and next-generation AI workloads, shows how Nvidia continues to redefine computing.

Worldwide investment in AI infrastructure will exceed $200 billion by 2028, and Nvidia is well-positioned to gain. Its chips are no longer merely tools, they are transforming into the gold standard for constructing and growing AI models.

Running Ahead of Apple and Microsoft

While Apple and Microsoft have long fought for the crown as the world’s most valuable corporation, Nvidia has surged past them both. Apple, which came into 2024 with almost $3.9 trillion, has weakened in recent months due to economic uncertainty and policy headwinds. Microsoft, with a market value around $3.77 trillion, temporarily caught up with Nvidia but lagged behind as the chip maker’s stock surged. This isn’t symbolic victory alone, rather it indicates a change in market leadership. Semiconductors and AI infrastructure are taking over from consumer electronics and software as the market’s leading growth driver.

Challenges Persist

Nvidia’s rise has not been smooth. This year, China’s DeepSeek shook things up with its low-priced AI model, raising the possibility of less costly, more efficient versions that would cut into Nvidia’s pricey hardware. In combination with U.S restrictions on AI chip exports to China, which cost Nvidia an estimated $2.5 billion in lost revenue, the company’s stock declined by as much as 37% from January to April. Nvidia recovered firmly, up 74% since early April, which is a reflection of investor confidence in its vision and long-term technological superiority. With Huang leading, Nvidia is moving into autonomous robots, cars, and high-end industrial AI models, indicating that the company’s horizon looks way beyond chips and servers.

$6 Trillion Projection

Analysts think that Nvidia’s ride is just getting started. In a recent report, Loop Capital estimated the company might hit a $6 trillion market capitalization by 2028, based on its near-monopoly position in AI-vital technologies. Loop Capital’s analysts Ananda Baruah and Alek Valero wrote,

“While it may seem fantastic that (Nvidia) fundamentals can continue to amplify from current levels, we remind folks that (Nvidia) remains essentially a monopoly for critical tech in the AI sector”.

Significant Moment for the Modern AI Era

Nvidia’s $4 trillion achievement is not just a marketplace milestone, it’s a paradigm shift in what tech leadership looks like today. As Apple awed us with gadgets and Microsoft constructed empires in the realm of enterprise software, Nvidia went on and constructed the digital foundation of the future world. Its graphics processors, which were long stereotyped as existing only in gaming machines, now drive everything from ChatGPT to autonomous cars. However, its real brilliance is its strategic placement. It does not compete with Google, Amazon, or Microsoft, rather it empowers them.

This positions Nvidia as the backbone and less of a brand that is competing to dominate. There are risks, from escalating competition to geopolitical volatility, but with a constant rate of innovation, Nvidia isn’t only leading the AI revolution, it’s creating it.

Dive Brief:

• With proper guidelines and accountability frameworks, artificial intelligence tools can enhance the project-based learning experience for both educators and students, said Jessica Garner, senior director of innovative learning at International Society for Technology in Education.
• “Technology should not be this isolated thing that happens outside of curriculum, instruction and teaching and learning and all of those different pieces,” said Garner, who has experience training educators on the intersection of technology and curriculum. 
• Garner emphasized that when leading AI training specifically, it’s important to focus on how to use the technology to improve the learning experience for students.

Dive Insight:

Project-based learning involves students spending an extended period working on a project that addresses a real-world problem or answers a complex question. This approach has been shown to enhance student engagement and improve student outcomes.

When incorporating AI in the classroom, Garner suggests that students should learn to utilize AI as a tool that enhances their learning rather than having it do the work for them. She said that project-based learning instruction particularly lends itself to work alongside AI for several reasons.

For one, since project-based learning already connects class material to real-world problems, Garner said, students are more likely to discern whether their use of AI will enhance or hinder their learning. 

“If students see value in the assignment, they want to do what’s more helpful to their learning,” Garner said. 

Project-based learning instruction can be intimidating for educators who may not know where to start. AI, Garner said, can serve as a thought partner in this scenario. When educators input the type of lesson they are trying to create — along with the goals and standards the lesson must meet — the AI tool can generate project assignments and activities for each stage of the project, she said.

For students, Garner said, AI can also serve as a way to receive feedback, and depending on the problem or project, AI can potentially help draft part of it. 

Garner explained that students can input their ideas and any challenges they’re facing and receive some initial guidance before meeting with their teacher. She added that AI can also help coach students on delivering presentations by having them record themselves and ask AI for feedback on what they could have done better.

“When I think about the role of the teacher in the classroom, there’s one teacher and, a lot of times, 30 kids. And even if they’re working in groups, you still have six different groups to try to get to in the classroom,” Garner said. “So if you can use AI as the first level of feedback, students can refine and hone in a little bit on what they’re trying to do, so when the teacher gets to each group, they can provide really targeted, specific feedback.”

However, Garner also cautioned educators to be mindful and to always question and verify the sources the AI tool uses to find information. She said it’s important to make sure that these activities are truly aligned with school and district standards and pedagogical themes. 

Similarly, she suggests that schools and districts ensure they have their own acceptable use guidelines for AI. Garner said that in a lot of cases, they don’t necessarily need a brand new policy, but they do need to look at their existing policies to make sure that whatever tools their teachers want to use are covered, as well.  

ISTE also provides hands-on AI project resources for different grade levels on its website.

Proteins are the molecular machines that make life work. Each one in your body has a specific task—some become muscles, bones and skin. Others carry oxygen in the blood or get used as hormones or antibodies. Yet more become enzymes, helping to catalyse chemical reactions inside our bodies.

Given proteins can do so many things, what if scientists could design bespoke versions to order? Novel proteins, never seen before in nature, could make biofuels, say, or clean up pollution or create new ways to harvest power from sunlight. David Baker, a biochemist and recent Nobel laureate in chemistry, has been working on that challenge since the 1980s. Now, powered by artificial intelligence and inspired by living cells, he is leading scientists around the world in inventing a whole new molecular world.