Apple reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable company, surpassing Microsoft on Wednesday, following its announcement of a significant push into artificial intelligence during its developers conference keynote earlier in the week.

As of about 10:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Apple's market capitalization stood at $3.3 trillion, slightly ahead of Microsoft's market cap of $3.2 trillion. The unveiling of Apple's extensive plans for artificial intelligence across its range of devices ignited investor enthusiasm, driving Apple's shares up more than 7% to a record high on Tuesday.

This positive momentum continued into Wednesday's trading session, with Apple's shares rising approximately 4% at the start of the day. Apple introduced its new AI features, dubbed Apple Intelligence, which will be integrated into its native apps and latest devices. These features include writing-assistance technology and AI-generated emojis.

Analysts from Morgan Stanley, Evercore, and Bank of America noted in investor notes this week that Apple's AI advancements are expected to incentivize users to upgrade to new iPhones. Evercore analysts, in particular, expressed confidence that AI capabilities could catalyze an iPhone super cycle, especially with Apple limiting certain AI features to iPhones sold within the last year.

However, the competition for the top spot remains fierce. While Microsoft had surpassed Apple's market cap earlier in the year, Nvidia briefly claimed the position of the second-most valuable public U.S. company earlier this month.

Interestingly, Microsoft is poised to benefit from Apple's AI initiatives as well. Apple announced its intention to incorporate OpenAI's large-language models into its offerings, with Microsoft being one of OpenAI's major investors. Microsoft's Azure cloud services have experienced growth driven by the widespread adoption of OpenAI's models, highlighting the interconnected nature of the tech industry's major players.