The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is marching higher today even as the broader market struggles.
Shares in the artificial intelligence (AI) data services company closed yesterday trading for $2.42. Shares are currently swapping hands for $2.45 apiece, up 0.9%, having earlier posted gains of more than 5%.
The Appen share price is gaining even as the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has dipped back into the red, down 0.1% at the time of writing.
So, what's piquing investor interest in the ASX tech stock today?
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What's lifting the Appen share price?
The Appen share price looks to be getting a lift on two fronts today.
First, there are the stellar gains posted by United States tech stock Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA).
The AI chip-making giant saw its share price close up 24.3% overnight, putting its market cap within a whisker of US$1 trillion.
This was largely driven by Nvidia's bullish prediction it would bring in US$11 billion in revenue in the second quarter. That beat market expectations by some 53%.
A lot of that forecast revenue growth is likely to stem from the fast-rising popularity of AI and the emergence of ever 'smarter' systems, like ChatGPT.
With Appen's own focus on artificial intelligence, the company could be receiving some tailwinds from Nvidia's strong revenue guidance.
What else are ASX investors considering
The Appen share price could also be getting a lift on the back of the company's annual general meeting (AGM), held this morning.
Chair Richard Freudenstein reviewed the company's disappointing FY22 performance.
Freudenstein recapped the ASX tech stock's statutory loss of $239 million, which he said reflected "the impairment of $204 million attributed to the investment in the New Markets business".
Appen's total full-year revenue of $388 was down 18% from FY21, and the company launched a "substantial cost reduction program" along with undertaking (an ongoing) a fully underwritten equity capital raising of $60 million.
With those figures in mind, Appen did not pay an interim or final dividend.
While those details are unlikely to offer much support for the Appen share price, Freudenstein also highlighted the growing opportunities presented by the global hype surrounding nascent machine intelligence.
"2022 was a breakthrough year for AI with the emergence of generative AI," he said.
Freudenstein added:
The evolution of large language models such as ChatGPT have created significant excitement around the future of AI. While we are energised by the potential of AI and generative AI, and what this could potentially mean for Appen – our immediate task is to reset the business.
