Microsoft shares hit an all-time high, benefiting from the rapid popularity of ChatGPT and others.

Microsoft shares hit an all-time high Thursday, becoming the third large technology company to reach a new high in market capitalization this year after NVIDIA and Apple. The software giant is working to reinvent its entire Office lineup, including Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Word, by introducing generative AI capabilities into its suite of products and services.

Microsoft shares rose 3.2 percent Thursday to close at $348.1, their highest close since Nov. 19, 2021. Microsoft shares are up 45% this year, adding about $800.6 billion to their market value.

Microsoft is the largest shareholder in OpenAI, a startup that started the generative AI boom with ChatGPT. In recent months, the tool has gone viral, demonstrating the enormous potential of chatbot technology. Microsoft announced in January that it would invest another $10 billion in OpenAI.

However, there are also reports that Microsoft and OpenAI support each other while there is a competitive relationship, this special cooperation makes the relationship between the two companies tense, and there will be conflicts behind the scenes.

Tech stocks such as NVIDIA also benefit from the application of generative AI technology. Companies are applying artificial intelligence technology to their products, boosting demand for related chips. Nvidia's share price has soared 192 percent so far this year and is considered the biggest beneficiary.