Nvidia's stock has seen a remarkable surge, climbing 14% over the past five trading days and nearing its all-time high. This rally has added an astounding $400 billion to the company's market capitalization, bringing it to $3.26 trillion. The increase in value over just one week exceeds the entire market capitalization of retail giant Costco.

The chipmaker's meteoric rise is largely attributed to growing excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) and specifically Nvidia's new Blackwell chip. CEO Jensen Huang has touted this processor as "the engine to power this new industrial revolution," a claim bolstered by endorsements from tech luminaries including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and OpenAI's Sam Altman.

Nvidia's ascent has positioned it as the second most valuable public company globally, surpassing Microsoft and trailing only Apple. The company's revenue, while significantly less than Costco's at $61 billion last year, generated an impressive $30 billion in net income, highlighting the high-margin nature of its business.

The surge has also catapulted CEO Jensen Huang into the ranks of the world's wealthiest individuals. His net worth has skyrocketed from about $14 billion to $106 billion in less than two years, making him the 11th richest person globally according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Investors are particularly enthused about the potential of the Blackwell chip, which promises to power AI applications more efficiently and at a lower cost than its predecessors. Nvidia announced plans to ramp up Blackwell production in the fourth quarter, with expectations of selling billions of dollars worth of chips before year's end.

The AI boom has lifted other tech giants as well, with the "Magnificent Seven" stocks all seeing gains as traders bet on the broader impact of AI across the tech sector. As Nvidia continues to lead the charge in AI chip development, its stock shows no signs of slowing down, with premarket trading indicating further gains.

This unprecedented growth underscores the transformative potential of AI in the tech industry and highlights Nvidia's central role in powering the next wave of technological innovation. As companies across sectors rush to integrate AI capabilities, Nvidia's position as a key supplier of essential hardware places it at the forefront of this technological revolution.