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Microsoft is one of the main players behind the global surge in AI products and it recently became the world’s most valuable company for a brief moment.
Microsoft made history by becoming the second company ever to reach the $3trn valuation, a milestone that had previously only been reached by Apple.
The tech giant’s market cap briefly climbed by more than 1pc and hit more than $404 per share, pushing it past the $3trn milestone. The company closed the day just shy of $3trn after a slight drop to its gains, Bloomberg reports.
Despite the achievement being brief, it represents a massive success for the company which has been rising steadily thanks to its investments in AI. The result also suggests that Microsoft could surge past Apple, which until recently was unrivalled in its position as the world’s most valuable company in the world.
Apple’s dominance over the top spot was shaken earlier this month, when Microsoft managed to briefly surpass Apple in market valuation – before the day ended with Apple back on top.
Microsoft had a very successful 2023 and is arguably one of the main companies behind the immense global focus on generative AI technology after the release of ChatGPT, the flagship product of OpenAI.
Microsoft is the main partner of OpenAI, having invested billions of dollars in the company to help develop its AI products. The tech giant has also incorporated AI into various products, which helped it gain in edge in certain markets and boost its earnings.
A key example of this was its AI upgrades for Bing, which managed to gain millions of new users in a market dominated by Google. While Google still holds the top spot, the introduction of AI shook up the market and caused Google to react with its own AI-focused offerings.
Microsoft also saw significant growth in its cloud computing services last year, which further boosted its revenue. In October, the software giant reported a 13pc growth in its overall revenue year-on-year to $56.5bn.
Apple is still on top in terms of market valuation, but the company’s revenue saw multiple drops in 2023 due to an impact on sales for its various gadgets including its flagship product, the iPhone. In November 2023, Apple reported a decline in overall sales in both China and Europe, while US sales saw only small growth. However, it beat Wall Street expectations by bringing in revenue of $89.5bn in its fourth quarter last year.
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