Nvidia’s mcap tops India’s GDP, 15 times Reliance, 26 times TCS and still climbing

By: Shantanu Bhattacharji

Nvidia’s stock has jumped nearly 35,000% in a decade, turning $1,000 in 2015 into $350,000. After hitting $1 trillion in 2023, it soared past $3 trillion in 2024, adding over $1 trillion in months.

When 28-year-old Rishi Mehta (name changed) refreshed his stock-tracking app during a coffee break in Bengaluru, he nearly spilled his cappuccino. Nvidia—the company he once knew as a graphics card maker for gaming rigs—had just crossed a $4 trillion market valuation. “That’s more than India’s entire economy,” he muttered in disbelief. He wasn’t wrong. The Silicon Valley-based chipmaker has become the first company in history to hit a $4 trillion market cap—roughly Rs 334 lakh crore—eclipsing the size of India’s GDP, which is estimated at $3.9 trillion (Rs 325 lakh crore) for FY25. A single tech firm, powered by the artificial intelligence boom, is now worth more than what 140 crore Indians collectively produce in a year—across agriculture, manufacturing, services, and finance.

The contrast is staggering. Nvidia’s valuation is more than 15 times that of Reliance Industries (Rs 20.8 lakh crore), 21 times HDFC Bank (Rs 15.4 lakh crore), and nearly 26 times Tata Consultancy Services (Rs 12.3 lakh crore). It also dwarfs Bharti Airtel
(Rs 12.1 lakh crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 10.2 lakh crore), State Bank of India (Rs 7.2 lakh crore), Infosys (Rs 6.8 lakh crore), Adani Enterprises (Rs 2.9 lakh crore), and even LIC, India’s once-unquestioned market heavyweight.

Nvidia’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. Its share price has soared nearly 35,000 per cent over the past decade—crushing the S&P 500’s 260 per cent return. A $1,000 investment in 2015 would now be worth $350,000—or more than Rs 29 lakh. Since reaching a $1 trillion valuation in 2023, it raced past $2 trillion and $3 trillion in 2024, adding over $1 trillion (Rs 83.5 lakh crore) in value in just the last few months.

AI Engine Behind Nvidia’s Surge

What’s fuelling this juggernaut? Nvidia has a near-monopoly on the high-performance AI chips that power systems like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and next-gen data centres. It’s not just a vendor—it’s the backbone of the generative AI revolution. With demand surging for AI compute power, Nvidia is supplying the digital “picks and shovels” of this gold rush.

Its dominance in both AI hardware and accompanying software has made it Wall Street’s most prized asset—trading ahead of Apple, Microsoft, and Saudi Aramco. Its market cap now exceeds the GDP of the UK ($3.9 trillion), France ($3.2 trillion), and Brazil ($2.1 trillion).

Too Fast, Too Soon?

Still, not everyone is buying into the hype. Analysts warn that such growth, however exciting, is inherently volatile. Apple hit $3 trillion in early 2022 but spent much of the following year moving sideways. At the time, Nvidia was valued at just $750 billion—since then, it has added over $3 trillion (Rs 250 lakh crore) in market value.

Now a heavyweight in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, Nvidia’s stock price wields disproportionate influence. Any stumble could send shockwaves across global markets. “It’s a real driver of risk and volatility when momentum stocks falter—especially when they’re this influential,” says Brian Buetel of UBS Wealth Management.

A Broader Shift in What We Value

Beyond numbers, Nvidia’s milestone signals a deeper shift. A company with fewer than 30,000 employees is now more valuable than a nation of 140 crore. It’s a striking symbol of how financial markets are increasingly rewarding future tech potential over present-day productivity.

Whether Nvidia sustains this run or faces a correction, its rise already says something profound about where the world economy is heading. In the age of AI, valuation isn’t just about what a company makes—it’s about what markets believe it can make possible.