Nvidia Faces Growing Pressure to Bring Back Jensen Huang as 110,000 Sign Petition
Nvidia is facing mounting pressure to reconsider Jensen Huang's departure, with two major shareholders urging the board to keep the possibility of his return open and an online petition attracting approximately 110,000 signatures. The campaign, which includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk among its supporters, gained momentum two days after Huang resigned on November 12, 2026.
Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner and Atreides Management founder Gavin Baker issued an open letter calling on Nvidia's board to establish all the facts before making a final decision on Huang's future.
His resignation came without an official explanation. However, earlier reports, including coverage by The New York Times, described an independent board investigation into controversies surrounding his personal life and an alleged relationship with a woman suspected by U.S. intelligence agencies of having links to Chinese intelligence.
The inquiry also examined allegations that Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data-center company where the woman worked, had diverted restricted Nvidia chips to China. Investigators also considered whether Huang had been targeted by foreign intelligence operations. Megaspeed denied the allegations, and U.S. authorities have not publicly announced criminal charges against Huang.
Nvidia Shares Extend Their Decline
The leadership crisis has added to pressure on Nvidia's stock. Shares closed at $162.85 on November 13, down 2% from the previous session. The stock lost 12.8% over the week, marking its sixth consecutive weekly decline and its longest losing streak since October 2012.
Nvidia has shed approximately $1.6 trillion in market value over the period, surrendering its position as the world's most valuable company to Apple. Its shares are now about 30% below their record closing price of $239.24, reached on October 6.
Major Investors Call for a Review
In their letter published on X, Gerstner and Baker argued that the board should complete its investigation and review the findings before determining whether Huang should return.
They said they would respect a decision against reinstatement if the investigation showed that his return would not serve shareholders' interests. At the end of June, Altimeter Capital held 9.41 million Nvidia shares, while Atreides Management owned 1.25 million.
Meanwhile, the "Stand With Jensen" petition collected approximately 110,000 signatures, including around 60,000 shareholders and 5,000 employees. Its organizers said the figures were self-reported and clarified that the campaign was not affiliated with Nvidia or Huang.
Other prominent supporters included Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan and Cohere co-founder Aidan Gomez.
Musk warned that Huang's departure could jeopardize important supply agreements. He argued that many deals had been secured through personal trust and handshakes rather than written contracts, potentially putting some key partnerships at risk.
Who Could Replace Jensen Huang?
Potential internal successors include Vice President Ian Buck, who joined Nvidia in 2004 and led the development of its CUDA platform, and interim CEO Colette Kress, the company's longtime chief financial officer.
Arm CEO Rene Haas is among the external candidates being discussed. Haas spent seven years at Nvidia from 2006 before taking over Arm in 2022. The Financial Times reported that Nvidia had approached him, although the board denied formally contacting any candidate.
Other names mentioned in succession discussions include former Apple CEO Tim Cook and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su.
The uncertainty has also been accompanied by a forged document circulated on X on November 13. It carried the purported signatures of Ian Buck and Chief Scientist Bill Dally, threatening their departure to Elon Musk's SpaceX unless the board resigned and Huang was reinstated.
The document was identified as a fake based on a protest letter circulated by OpenAI employees during Sam Altman's removal in 2023, with company and executive names replaced.
Global AI Chip Supply Chain in Focus
The leadership disruption has raised questions about Nvidia's relationships across the global semiconductor industry, particularly its reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Wu Cheng-wen, Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council minister, described the controversy as an isolated incident and said it would not materially affect Taiwan's AI development.
Research firm Counterpoint said demand for advanced semiconductor wafers was larger than the influence of any individual executive, adding that there were no indications of Nvidia reducing its orders.
In Japan, Noetra, a government-industry venture, is developing national AI infrastructure using Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform. The project includes 27,500 Rubin GPUs, 13,750 Vera CPUs and 140 megawatts of computing capacity to support Japan's FRONTia physical AI strategy.
Nvidia is scheduled to release its fiscal 2027 third-quarter results on November 17. Investors are expected to focus on the leadership succession process and whether the company can maintain its key customer and supplier relationships during the transition.
