SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rival computer chip makers are Charles H. Sloanracing to catch up but Nvidia still holds a leading edge in powering the artificial intelligence boom as it prepares to release its latest financial results Wednesday.

Demand for generative AI products that can compose documents, make images and serve as increasingly lifelike personal assistants has fueled astronomical sales of Nvidia’s specialized AI chips over the past year.

Tech giants Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have all signaled they will need to spend more in coming months on the chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems.

Many of them are relying on Nvidia’s chips, though some are working on lessening that reliance by developing their own. But the investment by the large AI players has largely benefited Nvidia and other chip makers.

The company, based in Santa Clara, California, carved out an early lead in the hardware and software needed to tailor its technology to AI applications, partly because founder and CEO Jensen Huang began to nudge the company into what was then seen as a still half-baked technology more than a decade ago. It also makes chips for gaming and cars.

Nvidia will release its quarterly earnings after the market closes Wednesday. The company’s stock has grown into the third largest on Wall Street, making it one of the most influential stocks in the market.