Some Nvidia employees are calling on the company's board to reinstate Jensen Huang days after he resigned as CEO, according to internal correspondence reviewed by Wired.
An internal suggestion box post, submitted by a longtime engineer prior to Huang's resignation, urged the board to consider employee sentiment before taking action. The post has since accumulated more than 1,600 comments, several asking the board to bring back Huang. One anonymous commenter wrote: "If you believe in the mission, bring back THE boss."
The post also called on the board to share investigation findings with staff and formally seek employee views on Huang's continued leadership. One employee sent a companywide email demanding transparency about his exit, stating "I stand by Jensen." In the hours following Huang's departure, approximately two dozen Nvidia employees posted supportive messages on LinkedIn, while Wired reported finding no employee posts backing his departure.
Huang's Resignation
Huang resigned as Nvidia's president, CEO, and board member on Thursday, ending a 33-year tenure at the company he co-founded. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO. Harvey Jones, a former CEO of Synopsys, became the board's first chair. Nvidia did not provide a reason for the resignation.
Huang told staff on Sunday that he had been "unfaithful" to his wife without naming anyone.
Reported Relationships
The New York Times reported in October that surveillance indicated Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, had developed a "close relationship" with the Nvidia CEO. U.S. officials concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset, while the Financial Times reported a U.S. memo said the two had been romantically involved. China has denied she is a spy.
Alice Huang was CEO and chair of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. Singapore police investigated her over possible false declarations relating to the company's server purchases. Police found insufficient evidence of offenses but concluded she had knowingly given inaccurate information about her role at Megaspeed. She received a stern warning, left Singapore in February, and was barred from returning. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday that the Justice Department had not yet concluded whether Alice Huang was a spy, and that the FBI was investigating the reports.
The Times reported Wednesday that Jensen Huang also had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, who reported directly to him. Powell has not commented.
Reuters reported Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter, that Huang had an intimate relationship with a second Nvidia employee, whom it did not name.
External Responses and Legal Matters
Tech and crypto figures have criticized the board's decision. Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao called it a mistake for Nvidia to let Huang resign. Elon Musk said hiring him would be "an honor."
Huang faces scrutiny in Washington, with congressional committees asking him to participate in a closed-door interview on December 1 and testify at a Senate hearing on December 3 regarding Nvidia's chip exports to China. He and Nvidia also face a proposed shareholder class action over his alleged ties to Alice Huang.
Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday under interim CEO Kress.
