Advancements in technology over the past several years have had a distinct impact on the value of some of the tech's most recognizable companies. As the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to ramp up, so too do the market caps of the main beneficiaries of the technology. A look at the list of the world's most valuable companies is revealing, as the top five -- and eight of the top 10 -- are inexorably linked to generative AI.

There are currently just seven companies with market caps that place them in the $1 trillion club and just three worth more than $3 trillion. The debate is raging about which company will be the first to achieve a $4 trillion valuation. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes investors may be missing the forest for the trees, suggesting there are actually three companies that will be charter members of the $4 trillion club within 12 months.

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Let's look at the three most likely contenders and what will take them across the finish line.

For those watching the developments in technology over the past couple of years, it will come as no surprise that Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) heads the list. The company is currently the world's most valuable company (as of this writing), with a market cap of $3.38 trillion. As a result, it will only take stock price gains of about 18% for Nvidia's value to surpass $4 trillion.

The chipmaker's graphics processing units (GPUs) provide the computational horsepower necessary to advance AI and quickly became the gold standard for running generative AI models in data centers and in the cloud. By some estimates, Nvidia controlled as much as 98% of the market last year and that likely won't be changing anytime soon.

Investors have rightly wondered whether the unprecedented demand would continue, but the available evidence is compelling. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Alphabet rank among Nvidia's biggest customers. Each of these tech titans reported their results last week, and each announced plans to ramp up their capital expenditures to keep up with the demand for AI. Furthermore, the vast majority of that will be on the chips and servers needed to facilitate AI, suggesting Nvidia will benefit from a good deal of that spending.

"The first one to get there is likely to be ... Nvidia because they're the only game in town," Ives said, "Their GPUs are the new oil or gold in the tech world with no real competition."