Nvidia Corp.’s computer chip maker Jen-Hsun Huang’s market value has reached $3 trillion, steadily climbing the ranks among the world’s richest people.
Huang hit another milestone on Friday, surpassing personal computer pioneer Michael Dell to become the world’s 13th richest person with a net worth of $106.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune has soared by more than $62 billion this year as demand for Nvidia’s chips, which power artificial intelligence tasks, remains insatiable.
Huang, 61, is leading a new wave of tech billionaires as artificial intelligence-fueled “Jensanity,” as one analyst calls it, takes over Silicon Valley. Other beneficiaries include Advanced Micro Devices Inc. CEO Lisa Su and Super Micro Computer Inc.’s Charles Liang. Last month, Huang became richer than every member of the Waltons, America’s richest family, following another blowout quarter for the chipmaker.
Huang’s wealth comes from his 3.5% stake in Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia, which he co-founded in 1993 with Chris Malahowsky and Curtis Priem. On Wednesday, Nvidia became the first computer chip company to reach a market capitalization of $3 trillion, surpassing Apple’s market capitalization, and challenged that benchmark again on Friday.
The 59-year-old Dell, who has a net worth of $105.9 billion, has been an outlier in the computer hardware industry among the technology super-rich, whose wealth often comes from software companies. Dell made much of his fortune selling personal computers and servers through his namesake company.
Still, Dell Technologies has been a beneficiary of recent artificial intelligence success, as companies need servers and other infrastructure to take advantage of Nvidia’s advanced chips. Investors are increasingly looking to Dell and Advanced Micro Devices as Nvidia’s partners of choice in this business.
In early March, as the company’s stock price rose to an all-time high, Dell joined a small group of people with wealth exceeding $100 billion. The stock has since retreated after the company reported results that disappointed investors and reduced its founder’s wealth by nearly $12 billion in one day.
Today, Nvidia occupies an ecosystem of hardware and software solutions that rivals from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to Intel Corp. are trying to disrupt or copy as it dominates the market for high-end accelerators used to train artificial intelligence. leading position.
And it shows no signs of slowing down or letting competitors catch up. Huang said the company plans to upgrade its so-called artificial intelligence accelerator every year.
