In the economy's newest kind of power struggle, the leader of the company that makes most of the chips driving artificial intelligence has stepped aside after revelations of personal affairs, one of them with a woman U.S. officials believed was a Chinese spy. Across Silicon Valley, a chorus of executives and investors has answered by insisting that the man is irreplaceable, and that a company this central to the nation's future cannot be steered by a board that bent to pressure. Whether the board yields or holds firm will say something about how far a single personality can carry an enterprise
Tech Leaders Rally Behind Jensen Huang After His Nvidia Resignation, Blaming the Board
Without Jensen, at least some of those critical deals will be lost.
Mark
Why is this reaction such a big part of the story?
Mimi
Because of what Nvidia is. It holds an estimated 90 percent of the market for advanced A.I. chips, so a change at the top matters well beyond one company.
Mark
Musk's argument is about handshake deals. What's he saying?
Mimi
That key supply relationships rest on personal trust in Huang, not written contracts, so some could be lost without him.
Luke
That's Musk's assertion, though. The reporting doesn't show which deals, or whether any partner has actually said it would walk away.
Mark
And the petition? Nearly 100,000 signatures sounds decisive.
Mimi
It's large, and it includes employees, partners and shareholders. It asks for reinstatement, an independent investigation and an explanation from the board.
Luke
But signatures aren't verified here, and we don't know how many are employees or shareholders versus anyone online. It shows sentiment, not leverage over the board.
Mark
Do the critics address the reasons Huang resigned?
Mimi
Mostly they focus on governance. The reasons were affairs with an employee and a woman U.S. officials believed was a Chinese spy.
Luke
Note the wording: officials believed. That's a belief attributed to them, not a confirmed finding, and the board hasn't been quoted explaining its reasoning.
Mark
So what's still open?
Mimi
Whether the board opens an investigation, and whether shareholder pressure brings Huang back.
Il Polso
- Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia's chief executive on Thursday, and the abrupt exit sent shockwaves through the tech world.
- A petition titled "Stand With Jensen" closed in on 100,000 signatures, demanding his return and an independent investigation.
- Elon Musk warned that critical supply-chain deals, sealed on a handshake rather than paper, may vanish without Huang.
- Shareholders Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker urged the board to resist a rushed replacement and keep the return option open.
- Harsh critics accused the board of bowing to pressure, while the board's next move remains the open question.
In the economy's newest kind of power struggle, the leader of the company that makes most of the chips driving artificial intelligence has stepped aside after revelations of personal affairs, one of them with a woman U.S. officials believed was a Chinese spy. Across Silicon Valley, a chorus of executives and investors has answered by insisting that the man is irreplaceable, and that a company this central to the nation's future cannot be steered by a board that bent to pressure. Whether the board yields or holds firm will say something about how far a single personality can carry an enterprise, and how much a nation's fortunes can rest on a handshake.
By Saturday morning, a letter called "Stand With Jensen" had gathered nearly 100,000 signatures. It asked Nvidia's board to bring Jensen Huang back as chief executive, open an independent investigation, and explain how it reached its decision. Among the signers were employees, partners, start-up founders and shareholders.
Huang stepped down on Thursday after revelations of affairs, one with an employee and another with a woman U.S. officials believed to be a Chinese spy. Within days, many of Silicon Valley's most prominent figures rallied to his side. They called him a singular leader who could not be replaced, warned that his departure would hurt America's position in artificial intelligence, and accused the board of caving to pressure.
Elon Musk made the sharpest case, noting that Huang had built Nvidia's supply chain largely through personal handshake deals, and that some of them could evaporate without him. Shareholders Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker, whose firms own Nvidia stock, pressed the directors not to rush into a replacement and to keep the possibility of Huang's return on the table.
The stakes are high because Nvidia now controls an estimated 90 percent of the market for advanced chips powering the largest AI projects. Huang grew the company from a maker of video game chips into the industry's dealmaker, a kind of central banker for start-ups that needed both hardware and money.
Not everyone was gentle. Telegram's Pavel Durov called the exit a rookie mistake, and Epic Games' Tim Sweeney accused the board of governance failures. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, who was pushed out in 2017 and never returned, offered a contrasting precedent. The next signals to watch are whether the board opens the investigation and whether shareholder pressure brings Huang back.
By Saturday morning, a letter titled "Stand With Jensen" had collected nearly 100,000 signatures. It asked Nvidia's board of directors to bring Jensen Huang back as chief executive, to open an independent investigation, and to explain how it had reached its decision. The signers included current and former Nvidia employees, business partners, start-up leaders and shareholders.
Huang resigned on Thursday after revelations that he had had affairs with an employee and with a woman whom U.S. officials believed to be a spy for China. Since then, many of Silicon Valley's executives and investors have rallied to his side in social media posts and letters to the board. They describe him as a singular leader who cannot be replaced, argue that his exit would set the United States back in the artificial intelligence race, and fault the board for bowing to pressure.
Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX and the richest person in the world, made the most concrete case on Saturday. Huang, he wrote, drove Nvidia's supply chain brilliantly, but many of those deals were a handshake with Huang rather than a written contract. Without him, Musk said, at least some of those critical deals will be lost. Among the signers of the open letter was Garry Tan, chief executive of the venture firm Y Combinator.
The backing underscores how central Nvidia has become. The company began by making chips for video games. It now controls an estimated 90 percent of the market for the advanced chips used in the large A.I. projects that are driving the U.S. economy. Along the way, Huang became Silicon Valley's consummate dealmaker, turning Nvidia into a kind of central banker for start-ups that needed chips and funding.
Shareholders have weighed in as well. In a letter sent Friday, Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital Management and Gavin Baker of Atreides Management, whose firms own Nvidia shares, urged the board to avoid a rush to replace Huang that would undermine shareholders' interests. They asked the directors to consider "all options on the table, including the potential return of Jensen Huang."
Others were harsher. Pavel Durov, the chief executive of Telegram, called Huang's departure a "rookie mistake" and told founders not to have a board but to be the board. His app has been accused of enabling terrorism, crime and disinformation. Tim Sweeney, chief executive of Epic Games, said Thursday that Nvidia's board had "serious corporate governance issues" and had been "gaslit" into pushing out a "once-in-generation visionary." On Wednesday, before the resignation, he had said that removing Huang would be "an Apple firing Steve Jobs level of idiocy." Apple's board ousted Jobs in 1985, and he returned in 1997 as chief executive.
Venture capitalist Elad Gil used the episode as a lesson for founders. In a Thursday post he called it a good reminder to revisit who sits on their boards, advising them to reset boards during good times to avoid sudden action during bad times.
Travis Kalanick, Uber's co-founder and former chief executive, was also among the voices. His history differs from Huang's: in 2017, Uber's biggest investors asked him to resign amid mounting legal and ethical scandals. He stepped down and never returned.
What to watch now is whether Nvidia's board launches the independent investigation the letter requests, and whether pressure from shareholders and peers leads to any move to bring Huang back.
Citazioni salienti
Many of those deals were a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract.— Elon Musk, SpaceX chief executive
The board should avoid a rush to replace Jensen and consider all options, including his potential return.— Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker, investors, in a letter to Nvidia's board
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