Microsoft hits $US3 trillion market cap as big bet on AI pays off

The tech giant is now second to Apple as the world’s biggest company by market capitalisation as its bet on artificial intelligence continued to impress Wall Street.

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella is aiming to transform the nature of work via artificial intelligence.

Microsoft joined Apple as a $US3 trillion ($4.6 trillion) company, as its big bet on artificial intelligence continued to impress Wall Street.

Now second to Apple as the world’s biggest company by market capitalisation, Microsoft’s shares soared to $US405.57 this week.

Apple remains narrowly in first place at $US3.02 trillion after reaching the $US3 trillion market capitalisation mark for the first time in January 2022. But it has fallen below the milestone, even briefly losing the pole position as biggest company on the markets when Microsoft briefly overtook the iPhone maker earlier this month.

Microsoft more than any other tech giant is riding the wave of excitement over AI. The Redmond, Washington-based group has a major partnership with OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, that is reportedly worth $US13bn.

Since the arrival of ChatGPT, Microsoft has launched several products enabling companies and individuals to use the capabilities of generative AI, notably via its Bing search engine and Copilot virtual assistant.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in early November 2022, Microsoft shares have gained some 67 per cent, with Apple’s up by about 40 per cent.