FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Snowflake Inc. is displayed on a banner to celebrate the company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

By Akash Sriram

(Reuters) -Snowflake shares jumped about 19% on Thursday riding a wave of demand for the firm's artificial intelligence database products, as companies race to modernize their data infrastructure and simplify AI adoption.

The stock move is set to add more than $12.5 billion to its $67 billion market capitalization, if gains hold.

The cloud-based data warehousing company, which enables enterprises to store, manage and analyze massive datasets across multiple cloud providers, said demand for its platform is accelerating.

"Investors are increasingly searching for opportunities where AI is making a real difference. While chip providers have benefited for the past few years and cloud revenue growth is notable at companies like Microsoft, it is having a significant effect among data providers," said Ben Barringer, global TMT analyst at Quilter Cheviot.

Investor optimism was further fueled by Nvidia's upbeat forecast, which reinforced confidence in the AI boom and signaled continued spending on data infrastructure, a trend that positions Snowflake to benefit as businesses deploy AI at scale.

Snowflake is a key beneficiary of the AI and cloud migration trend, with its modern data architecture helping companies leverage AI innovation, alongside other next-generation databases and platforms, said Richard Clode, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, which owns Snowflake shares.

Shares of peers MongoDB and Datadog rose about 4.5%, with the former getting an extra boost after lifting its full‑year revenue and profit outlook earlier this week.

Snowflake expects annual product revenue of $4.40 billion, up from its prior forecast of $4.33 billion and above analysts' estimates.

Databricks said earlier this month it was raising funds in a Series K round at a valuation above $100 billion, highlighting investor demand for AI‑native data platforms.

Snowflake shares, up about 30% this year, trade at 142.5 times profit estimates, compared with 75.8 for MongoDB and 63.7 for Datadog.

At least 24 analysts raised their price targets and more than 10 upgraded the stock, which carries an average "buy" rating and a median target of $260.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)