AI stocks surged in extended trading on Wednesday, adding almost $300 billion in market capitalization after chipmaker Nvidia Corp forecast strong revenue growth and said it was boosting production of its AI chips to meet surging demand. Nvidia’s stock zoomed as much as 28% after the bell to trade at its highest level ever, increasing its stock market value by about $200 billion.
Rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc jumped 10%, while Microsoft Corp and Google parent Alphabet Inc, which are both rushing to incorporate regenerative AI into their Web search platforms, each rose about 2%. AI software maker C3.ai and Palantir Technologies, which recently launched its own AI platform, both soared about 8%.
Interest in AI surged this year after startup OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, attracting over a million users within a week. Ahead of Nvidia’s report on Wednesday, optimism around AI had already fueled a 109% surge in its stock so far in 2023, making the chipmaker the S&P 500’s top performer year-to-date.