Nvidia edged ahead of other tech companies on Tuesday to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company in the latest sign of the might of artificial intelligence.

The chip company, which has enjoyed a monumental ascent over the last 18 months amid enthusiasm over generative AI, jumped 3.4 percent near 1:25 pm (1725 GMT), giving it a market capitalisation of about US$3.3 trillion, slightly ahead of Microsoft and Apple.

The California-based company, which is led by Jensen Huang, has seen profits soar due to torrid demand for its powerful GPU chips, which have set the industry's pace in pushing new advances in AI.

In May, Nvidia reported a net profit of US$14.9 billion, while its revenue of US$26 billion was almost four times what it took in during the same fiscal quarter last year.

"We believe over the next year the race to US$4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft," said a note earlier this week from Wedbush Securities.

"Nvidia's GPU chips are in essence the new gold or oil in the tech sector as more enterprises and consumers quickly head down this path with the 4th Industrial Revolution well underway." (AFP)