• Nvidia has seen huge recent success thanks to artificial intelligence.

• The chipmaker should grow sales rapidly for decades to come.

• A patient, long-term approach would serve investors best.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has already been one of the best long-term investments in history. Since 1999, shares of the chipmaker have increased in value by more than 340,000%. An original investment of just $3 would have turned into $1 million over that timeframe!

But don't think the run is over. The next few decades should see the company grow its sales immensely, leading to big gains for patient investors. Here's why.

Nvidia's business model sits at the very center of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Nearly all AI technologies require massive datasets and compute power to operate. Complex models crunch this data to provide relevant outputs for users. While some models can run locally, most popular models are run on the cloud, using distributed compute power that can scale up and down dynamically based on demand.

What technologies make cloud computing infrastructure possible? Graphics processing units, more commonly referred to as GPUs.

There is a wide variety of companies producing a wide variety of GPUs, each specialized for a different purpose. For a long time, Nvidia specialized in GPUs built for gaming environments. Next-gen gaming consoles and computers need vast amounts of graphics processing power. Specialized chips like Nvidia's allowed the industry to advance, creating better and more visually stunning games for users.

Nvidia recognized the potential of AI before many of its competitors. It invested heavily to make sure its chips and software were able to support the small but promising industry. As The New York Times summarizes:

Over more than 10 years, Nvidia has built a nearly impregnable lead in producing chips that can perform complex A.I. tasks like image, facial and speech recognition, as well as generating text for chatbots like ChatGPT. The onetime industry upstart achieved that dominance by recognizing the A.I. trend early, tailoring its chips to those tasks and then developing key pieces of software that aid in A.I. development.

That software component is perhaps Nvidia's biggest secret weapon. Over the next decade, the AI market is predicted to grow from several hundred billion dollars in value to nearly $5 trillion. Competition for GPUs will surely heat up, but Nvidia's software has created a sort of lock-in for customers.