A petition asking Nvidia’s board to reinstate Jensen Huang had attracted more than 115,000 signatures by Saturday 14 November, TechCrunch reported. The Stand with Jensen campaign says 5,965 signers are current Nvidia employees, bringing a public show of workforce support to the board’s decision over its former chief executive.
Key points
- The petition had more than 115,000 signatures by the afternoon of 14 November.
- Its website lists 5,965 current Nvidia employees and 63,063 shareholders among the signers.
- Signers want Huang reinstated while an independent investigation establishes the facts.
- The campaign’s affiliations are self-reported, The Defiant reported.
Stand with Jensen passes 115,000 signatures
The petition website also listed 1,108 former Nvidia employees and 63,063 shareholders among its signers. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan were among the named supporters.
The total rose through 14 November. The campaign displayed 66,826 signatures at 3:13 a.m. ET, The Defiant reported. It had more than 100,000 names by 10:30 a.m. ET, Yahoo Finance reported.
The campaign says affiliations are self-reported and its screening does not verify identities. Its organisers said they were removing fake entries. The website says it is independent of Nvidia and Huang.
Petition asks Nvidia board to reinstate Huang
The petition asks the board to “bring him back while an independent investigation establishes the facts”. It also seeks a fair investigation and more information for the public. Musk posted on X on 13 November that he was signing it, Yahoo Finance reported.
The public campaign follows an earlier expression of support inside Nvidia. An internal post urging the board to consider employees’ views had drawn more than 1,600 comments by 12 November, most in favour of Huang’s return, Wired reported. Separately, investors with a $2.1 billion stake urged the board to consider bringing Huang back.
Nvidia’s board appoints Kress interim CEO
Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation as president, CEO and board member on 12 November. The board had accepted it effective 11 November, according to a regulatory filing described by Yahoo Finance. CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO, and director Harvey Jones became the board’s first chair.
Huang’s departure followed reports of extramarital relationships, and he has admitted to an affair, Yahoo Finance reported. Nvidia’s independent directors said on 10 November that they had retained former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an independent investigation, according to The Defiant.
Nvidia vice president of applied deep learning research Bryan Catanzaro said on 13 November that a letter circulating online and claiming his involvement was fake, The Defiant reported. He said he trusted the board’s judgement and backed Kress without reservation.
Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly results on 17 November.
