Full story: https://grafa.com/insights/nvidia-spurs-frenzy-of-data-stocks-on-the-asx-238555

When zeros and ones are worth more than barrels of liquid black gold, you know the world is on a new trajectory.

With a market value above US$3 trillion, data infrastructure and chipmaker, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is now the world’s largest company.

It’s almost twice as big as the world’s largest oil company Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

And six times as big as America’s largest oil company, Exxon Mobil.

Nvidia is closely followed by technology companies Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Which means the top five biggest companies in the world are now all technology companies.

And their assets?

In a word: data.

Data about their customers, time spent on platform/devices, frequency of use, search histories, demographics, interests, location data. The list goes on.

Just like the oil rush of yesteryear, the data boom has everyone scrambling for a piece of the digital pie.

Companies are hoarding information like squirrels with nuts, hoping to crack the code to consumer desires — which, let’s be honest, is probably just an endless stream of cat videos and pizza coupons.

But all this data needs an ever-growing supply of data-processing power.

And whether you’re in the business of creating or storing data, it’s a red hot space right now.

The enthusiasm on the Nasdaq is spilling over onto the ASX, with technology companies showing the highest growth over the past year.

Here’s a look at some of the top performing ASX-listed tech companies over the past 12 months:

DXN (ASX:DXN) — Shares up 211%

DXN designs, manufactures, operates and maintains data centres.

Its shares are up more than 200% over the past 12 months.

NUIX (ASX:NXL) — Shares up 249%

Nuix develops software that helps organisations extract insights from massive amounts of structured and unstructured data.

Its shares are up more than 240% over the past 12 months.

4DS Memory (ASX:4DS) — Shares up 182%

4DS is a development-stage company pioneering a new type of memory technology called Interface Switching ReRAM (ReRAM).

Its shares are up more than 180% over the past 12 months.

DUG Technology (ASX:DUG) — Shares up 123%

DUG Technology develops software for big data analysis and high-performance computing, targeting industries like energy and finance with its solutions for managing complex datasets.

Its shares are up more than 120% over the past 12 months.

So, what’s in store for the future?

Of course, with great data comes great responsibility.

Just because you can track your every move with a fitness tracker doesn’t mean you should share it with every app you download.

Data breaches are the new oil spills — messy, expensive, and a real pain to clean up.

So, the next time you hear someone talk about data being the new oil, remember — it might be the future, but be careful, folks.

Because unlike oil, you can’t exactly drill for more privacy.