Chip-maker Nvidia surpasses $2 trillion market cap for first time

The logo of the chip company Nvidia can be seen at its headquarters in Silicon Valley. Nvidia surpassed the $2 trillion market cap on Friday, becoming the third US company to do so. Andrej Sokolow/dpa

Chip company Nvidia surpassed the $2 trillion market cap on Friday, becoming the third US company to do so.

The deciding factor was a share price increase of 4% to $822.79.

Previously, only Apple and Microsoft had closed with a market value of more than $2 trillion, while Google parent Alphabet broke the mark during trading. Microsoft is currently worth more than $3 trillion, while Apple recently slipped below this mark again.

Originally developed for graphics cards, Nvidia's technologies have proven their worth in the computing work involved in teaching artificial intelligence applications.

This is driving a rapid rise in Nvidia's business - and its stock market value.

Since the beginning of the year, the share price has increased by more than 60%.