Silicon Valley Leaders Rally Behind Jensen Huang After Nvidia CEO Resigns
Silicon Valley executives and investors are rallying behind Jensen Huang after he resigned as Nvidia's CEO on Thursday, November 12, following revelations of extramarital affairs with an employee and a woman U.S. authorities suspected of being a Chinese spy. Supporters argue his departure would set back America's artificial intelligence race. Billionaire peers, including investors Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker, sent letters to Nvidia's board urging it to consider all options, including Huang's possible return. An open letter titled "Stand With Jensen" had nearly 100,000 signatures by Saturday, including Elon Musk, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, and current and former Nvidia employees. Some executives took a combative tone, with Telegram CEO Pavel Durov advising founders to avoid boards, and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney accusing Nvidia's board of governance issues and manipulation. Sweeney compared the situation to Apple firing Steve Jobs in 1985, who later returned as CEO in 1997.