Nvidia announced this morning that CEO Jensen Huang has resigned following reports of two affairs, one involving a direct report and another with an alleged Chinese spy. The news follows a rapid escalation of reports, beginning with a Friday story from The New York Times stating Huang and the suspected spy were “close.” Shortly after the resignation was announced, Reuters reported that Huang also had an “intimate relationship” with another Nvidia employee.
Several prominent technology figures have criticized the move as a rushed reaction to personal news. Changpeng Zhao, former Binance CEO, stated, “It’s a mistake for Nvidia to let Jensen resign.” David Heinemeier Hansson, 37signals CTO, called the move a “waste” and argued that Nvidia would be wrong to fire Huang, suggesting his marital indiscretions are between him, his wife, and a reprimand from the board, adding, “Have some proportionality.”
Other leaders expressed deep disappointment over the loss of Huang's leadership. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, called it “A sad day for NVIDIA, developers, America, and all humanity,” noting that Huang founded and ran one of the few companies to reach a massive scale while driving innovation. Peter Steinberger, an OpenAI employee, suggested that if a spy's goal was to destabilize a successful American company, they succeeded, adding that ousting Huang feels rushed and not right. Sweeney agreed with Steinberger's assessment.
Support for Huang’s legacy was also prominent. Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity co-founder and CEO, thanked Huang for “33 years of bold leadership” and noted that his grit and perseverance secured a bright future for AI. Lex Fridman, host of the Lex Fridman Podcast, expressed shock at the "mass hysteria" and stated that letting Jensen go is "terrible for America."
Political and social media figures also weighed in. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that since Huang has done a "fantastic job," the only man to take his place is "TIM COOK of Apple," calling it "A Legend replaces a Legend!" Jason Calacanis, host of the All-In Podcast, urged Cook to "Keep the seat warm" for Huang while the investigation is sorted out, arguing that shareholders should decide Huang's fate rather than the "press or online mobs."
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, replied to an X user saying it would “be an honor” to hire Huang. He also agreed with a post stating that one does not simply replace a founder, replying “True words.”
In contrast, some reactions were more neutral or focused on the company's future. Clément Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, stated that the situation "sucks" and is a "really sad day," but emphasized that the company will continue to fight for open-source AI. Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, had stated the night before the resignation that “China wants Jensen out, so I want him in.” Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, reposted a comment suggesting that if a company doesn't face a coup attempt every few years, it isn't hiring strong enough leaders.
