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Microsoft surpasses Apple as world’s most valuable company

Microsoft surpasses Apple as world’s most valuable company

The two tech giants have been going head-to-head for the top spot.

Most of the time, Apple sits comfortably as the world's most valuable company - but this week Microsoft claimed its crown, albeit only for a brief moment.

Back in 2018, Apple became the first company in the world to be valued above a trillion dollars - and Microsoft was hot on its heels, reaching this staggering milestone the following year.

And on Thursday this week, Microsoft at various points of the day took over Apple to become the world's most valuable firm by market capitalization.

Michael M. Santiago / Staff / Getty

This refers to the overall value of a company's shares, and was seen during trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Reuters said Microsoft's value briefly reached an eye-watering $2.9 trillion (£2.27 trillion), which is a ridiculous number to actually wrap your head around.

Meanwhile, Apple's market cap (as it's known) didn't quite reach these heights.

Ultimately, the iPhone maker came out on top, reportedly finishing the day at $2.89 trillion (£2.26 trillion) compared to Microsoft's $2.86 trillion (£2.24 trillion).

It's the first time Microsoft was the world's most valuable company since 2021, and is currently enjoying an increase in share prices.

"It was inevitable that Microsoft would overtake Apple since Microsoft is growing faster and has more to benefit from the generative AI revolution," said D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria told Reuters.

It's true that Microsoft is becoming a leading power in the race for artificial intelligence (AI).

NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty

In 2019 the Bill Gates-founded company first invested $1 billion (£782 million) into artificial intelligence startup OpenAI - which is responsible for bringing ChatGPT to the world.

Last year, Microsoft announced it was making a "multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” in OpenAI, showing how the tech giant really is going all in on AI.

Microsoft's partnership lets it capitalize on OpenAI’s technology - its supercomputers are helping to power the startup’s energy-hungry AI systems, while the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant will be able to further integrate OpenAI technology into Microsoft products.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Boeing's stock stabilized after slumping earlier in the week following the in-flight blowout of one of its planes flying for Alaska Airlines, rising by 0.9%.

Featured Image Credit: SOPA Images / Contributor / Anadolu / Contributor / Getty