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Nvidia Takes The Lead As The Most Profitable Company In 2024

In 2024, Nvidia has cemented its position as the most profitable company of the year, marking a significant milestone in the tech industry. The American company, renowned for its AI chips, has capitalized on the artificial intelligence boom, driving market value and demand for its products to record highs. Nvidia’s rapid ascent underscores the massive growth of AI technologies globally and its central role in shaping the sector’s future.

Explosive Growth in Market Value

Nvidia’s market capitalization has skyrocketed by over $2 trillion in just one year, reaching a staggering $3.28 trillion by the end of 2024. This impressive jump follows a market value of $1.2 trillion at the end of 2023. The tech giant is now the second most valuable company in the world, trailing only Apple, which maintains its lead with a market valuation approaching $4 trillion.

While Nvidia briefly overtook Apple as the most valuable company in 2024, it quickly lost that lead. Despite this, Nvidia’s rise has been nothing short of remarkable. The company’s tremendous success highlights the growing reliance on AI-driven technologies, which are increasingly integrated into industries worldwide.

The Tech Landscape in 2024

The year 2024 proved to be transformative for the entire tech sector. Significant investments in artificial intelligence and its growing demand have helped propel tech companies to new heights. This AI boom has also had a ripple effect on global stock indices. The S&P 500 experienced a 23.3% increase, while the Nasdaq soared by 28.6%. As the year draws to a close, forecasts for 2025 point to continued growth in the sector.

Nvidia’s success mirrors the overall tech industry’s flourishing financial performance. It is not alone in benefiting from AI, as other tech giants have also seen their valuations soar. However, Nvidia’s dominance in AI chip production has positioned it at the forefront of this technological revolution.

Stock Volatility and Resilience

While Nvidia’s growth has been exceptional, it has not been without volatility. In November 2024, the company’s stock experienced a significant dip, falling by up to 3% and wiping out nearly $100 billion in market value. Despite these fluctuations, Nvidia’s stock price has surged by over 830% in the past two years. This meteoric rise has delivered returns that more than double the performance of the next best-performing company in the S&P 500 index during the same period—Meta, which saw a 400% increase.

Despite the occasional setbacks, Nvidia has shown remarkable resilience, proving its ability to navigate the volatile stock market while maintaining its leadership in the AI space.

The Journey of Nvidia

Nvidia’s journey from a humble beginning to industry dominance is a story of innovation and foresight. Founded 31 years ago by three co-founders in a Denny’s diner in Silicon Valley, the company has grown into a powerhouse in the tech world. One of those co-founders, Jensen Huang, who worked as a Denny’s employee before his rise to fame, now serves as Nvidia’s CEO. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping the company’s success, and Huang’s net worth has skyrocketed to $127 billion, placing him among the ten richest people in the world.

Today, Nvidia stands as a testament to the transformative power of artificial intelligence, with its chips driving the AI revolution. The company’s profitability in 2024 reflects its pivotal role in the rapidly evolving tech landscape, and its growth is expected to continue as demand for AI technologies shows no signs of slowing.

Looking Ahead

As Nvidia continues to lead the charge in AI chip production, the company is poised to maintain its position as one of the most influential players in the tech industry. With forecasts for further AI-driven growth in the coming years, Nvidia’s market position is expected to remain strong. As it navigates the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing market, the company’s remarkable success story is far from over.

Binance Details Months-Long Cyberattack Behind $6.34 Billion Crypto Theft

Binance has disclosed how attackers used fake software downloads, fraudulent job interviews and compromised internal tools to breach its wallet infrastructure in an October 29 cyberattack that resulted in the theft of more than $6 billion in digital assets.

The incident was not caused by a single employee mistake, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”. Instead, attackers spent months building access before reaching the system responsible for authorising wallet transactions.

“They spent months building their way in,” Teng said, describing a sequence involving a compromised developer tool, malware hidden in a coding exercise and access to internal AI systems.

How Attackers Reached Binance’s Wallet Infrastructure

According to Binance’s security report, the operation began in June when a Wallet DevOps engineer downloaded a modified Homebrew installation while searching online for a popular AI coding tool.

Binance detected suspicious activity, replaced the engineer’s device and rotated credentials. However, the company said the engineer’s role and the work of colleagues on the wallet infrastructure team had already been exposed.

In September, attackers allegedly posed as recruiters and interviewed another engineer. A coding exercise contained hidden malware designed to evade security controls, Teng said. The attackers subsequently moved through internal AI tools and gained access to the system authorising wallet transactions.

Teng did not directly attribute the attack to North Korea, but said the FBI had linked it to North Korean hackers associated with the TraderTraitor group.

Binance Recovers Most Affected Assets

Binance said it has replenished 98% of the $6.34 billion in affected assets and is working to acquire the remaining, less-liquid holdings. The exchange temporarily restricted certain withdrawals, committed to covering customer losses and used its reserves to restore affected funds.

The company and industry partners, including Tether, Circle and Ripple, have reportedly frozen around $3 billion in assets. However, some stolen funds continue to move through laundering channels.

Coinbase has also blocked transfers to compromised wallets and offered assistance to Binance.

Security Overhaul And Industry Confidence

Following the breach, Binance rebuilt the affected wallet system and internal AI tool, replaced compromised devices, revoked credentials and tokens associated with the engineers involved, and expanded security scans across employee devices.

The exchange has also commissioned an independent expert to review its response and security measures. Teng said Binance would continue strengthening its defences while working with law enforcement and industry partners to trace and freeze the stolen funds.

The incident has renewed questions about the security of centralised crypto exchanges. Although Binance maintains that it remains financially sound, attention is now focused on recovering the remaining assets and demonstrating that its security controls can withstand increasingly sophisticated attacks.

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