Jensen Huang is plotting a comeback with the backing of influential Silicon Valley tech bros just days after he resigned over an affair with a suspected Chinese spy.
According to the Financial Times, Huang’s allies have convened a “war room” of tech executives sympathetic to the former boss of the $4 trillion chipmaker who are planning to enlist the White House’s help in lobbying Nvidia’s board to bring back its disgraced ex-CEO.
Jensen Huang has become a favorite of President Donald Trump.
Kevin Dietsch/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“Everyone that matters in tech outside the frontier labs loves Jensen,” an unnamed supporter told the FT.
Huang resigned as Nvidia boss last week, days after it was revealed that he had an affair with Alice Huang, a Singapore-based executive at cloud company Megaspeed who is believed to be a Chinese spy.
After Huang admitted to that affair, the company’s board commenced an investigation. Huang was later revealed to have also had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare and one of his direct reports. He subsequently resigned.
Since then, an open letter calling on Nvidia’s board to bring back Huang has amassed over 150,000 signatures, with high-profile backers including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Y-Combinator boss Garry Tan.
“Our understanding is that an outside investigation has been announced but has not yet concluded,” the letter said.
“We are concerned that Jensen was removed without meaningful due process.”
Picture taken June 2, 2024. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang greets Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang after delivering his keynote speech at COMPUTEX 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2, 2024.
Ann Wang/REUTERS/Ann Wang
Huang has also enjoyed the support of President Donald Trump, who urged him to keep fighting days before he resigned as chief executive. While Huang has forged a close relationship with the president, regularly attending events at the White House and Mar-a-Lago, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week called for a “dramatic shakeup” at Nvidia after the former boss’ departure. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is currently the company’s interim CEO and is a favorite for the permanent position. Trump has called for former Apple chief executive Tim Cook to be installed, while Rene Haas, boss of British chip manufacturer Arm Holdings, has reportedly been approached for the job by Nvidia’s board.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993, and has served as its president and chief executive until his departure last week. Under his leadership, the once little-known firm soared to a peak valuation of $5.8 trillion, as its Graphics Processing Units formed the backbone of the artificial intelligence boom.
Nvidia has since lost its crown as the world’s most valuable company to Apple, losing around 30 percent of its market value in the aftermath of Huang’s multiple sex scandals.
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