Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) saw its shares inch up in pre-market trading today, suggesting the continuation of a rally from Wednesday. This surge has propelled the AI chip designer's market value beyond $3 trillion, surpassing Apple to become the second most valuable company globally.

The surge in Nvidia's value is largely attributed to the growing excitement around AI applications. Over the past year, the demand for its AI-optimized chips has increased significantly as more companies invest heavily in integrating this emerging technology into their operations.

In a surprising development earlier this week, Nvidia announced the upcoming release of its new "Rubin" chip, only a few months after its last product launch. This move comes as the company faces stiff competition from other chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, as well as from custom processors developed by major cloud computing companies such as Microsoft and Google.