A confluence of divergent, powerful trends have combined to make Nvidia the most valuable U.S. semiconductor company. Long a leader in making essential graphics chips for video games, it saw a 61% jump in revenue in its latest quarter, powered by the pandemic-fueled explosion of gaming. The Santa Clara, Calif.–based company also got a boost from surging interest in cryptocurrency as investors bought powerful Nvidia chips to help “mine” digital currencies. Now the company is emerging as a key player in super-computing and AI, resulting in perhaps the most significant use of the company’s chips: in October, Nvidia unveiled a partnership with drug giant GSK to team up on using AI-powered computation to speed the drug and vaccine discovery process. In January, it struck a deal with Chinese EV maker NIO to supply chips to develop autonomous vehicles.
- Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year
- Why We Chose Trump as Person of the Year
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You?
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- The 20 Best Christmas TV Episodes
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
