'Bring Back THE Boss': Nvidia Employees Push for Jensen Huang's Return After China Spy Scandal Resignation

Nvidia employees are campaigning internally for Jensen Huang’s reinstatement as CEO, according to internal correspondence reviewed by WIRED. Wired reports that a longtime Nvidia engineer posted a suggestion before Huang’s resignation, urging the board to weigh employee sentiment before taking action and to share findings from its investigation “about Jensen’s continuing as our CEO.” The post has drawn more than 1,600 comments, most of them reportedly in favor of bringing Huang back. “If you believe in the mission, bring back THE boss,” one employee wrote in the comments. Another added: “We are all humans and can make mistakes. Jensen did so many good things and he needs a second chance.” Huang had led Nvidia since founding the company in 1993. The crisis that ended his tenure began when reports surfaced of an affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset. Huang emailed employees that Sunday admitting he had been “unfaithful to [his] wife,” calling his actions “no excuse.” He has not addressed the matter publicly since, despite reports of more affairs emerging. He submitted his resignation on Thursday. The fallout has been steep: Nvidia has lost $1 trillion in market value since the allegations surfaced. The episode has drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and the FBI and raised the possibility of new export controls on chips. The board, made up largely of early Nvidia investors and Huang’s longtime confidants, named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO and appointed former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones as board chair. Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall, author of the New York Times bestseller Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, describes Huang’s departure as a win for China: Within hours of the resignation announcement, dozens of employees posted messages on LinkedIn supporting Huang. One employee who has worked at Nvidia for a couple of years, and who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the desire to see Huang reinstated appears widespread inside the company. “Nvidia is Nvidia because of Jensen,” the employee said. Many employees had expected the board’s investigation to run its course before any major leadership changes took effect. Instead, Huang departed just as the inquiry was getting underway. One employee sent a companywide email demanding transparency into the circumstances of Huang’s exit. “I stand by Jensen,” the email read. “Not because I believe any person is infallible, but because I refuse to believe that standing for fairness must mean standing at a distance from someone whose leadership has meant so much to us.” The same employee questioned the timing of Huang’s departure relative to the board’s unfinished inquiry: “If America fails the man who helped build its future, then this world does not deserve Jensen Huang.” Read more at Wired here. Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.