Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the company’s annual developers conference event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, on June 10, 2024. During the conference keynote on Monday, Apple announced its push into artificial intelligence, which resulted in the company surpassing Microsoft to become the most valuable company in the world.
As of about 10:45 a.m. ET, Apple’s market cap reached $3.3 trillion, exceeding Microsoft’s market cap of $3.2 trillion. Investors responded positively to Apple’s AI plans, with shares surging more than 7% to a record high on Tuesday. The momentum continued into Wednesday’s session with shares rising about 4% at the start of the trading day.
Apple’s new AI features, known as Apple Intelligence, generated excitement among analysts from Morgan Stanley, Evercore, and Bank of America. They believe that these features will drive users to purchase new iPhones, potentially leading to an iPhone super cycle. The company’s decision to restrict Apple Intelligence to iPhones sold within the last year adds to analysts’ confidence in the technology’s potential.
Despite the competition, Microsoft is likely to benefit from Apple’s AI ambitions. Apple announced that it would provide OpenAI’s large-language models as a feature for its users, with more models to be added over time. Microsoft, being one of OpenAI’s largest investors, is positioned to leverage this partnership. With Apple’s announcement, the battle for the top spot in market cap continues among tech giants.