SAN FRANCISCO (Azat TV) – An online public petition urging the Nvidia board of directors to reinstate cofounder Jensen Huang as chief executive officer passed 100,000 signatures on Saturday, November 14, 2026, intensifying corporate governance pressures following his abrupt departure on November 12, 2026. The petition, which includes self-reported signatures from tech industry luminaries such as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, and more than 5,000 current Nvidia employees, unfolds alongside a formal corporate leadership vacuum and intense regulatory scrutiny surrounding the chipmaking giant.
Institutional shareholders press for leadership continuity
The grass-roots petition mirrors widening institutional intervention in the wake of Huang's exit. On Friday, November 13, 2026, two major institutional shareholders—Altimeter Capital and Atreides Management—jointly issued an open letter to the Nvidia board urging them to include the possibility of Huang's return as a succession option. According to regulatory filings cited by market observers, Altimeter held 9.4 million shares valued at nearly $1.9 billion as of June 30, while Atreides held 1.2 million shares worth approximately $250 million. While acknowledging the operational capabilities of interim CEO Colette Kress, the investors argued that the company's long-term architect deserved a deliberate and prudent transition process rather than an immediate replacement.
The two investors acknowledged in their joint letter the capabilities of interim CEO Colette Kress, expressing confidence that she could ably lead the company through the current phase. However, they pivoted at the end of their communication to emphasize that the founder of this exceptional company, an extraordinary leader who guided the firm for years, deserves the treatment of a careful process, avoiding any unnecessary rush to replace him before all facts are clarified. The open letter was published by Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner on the social platform X and co-signed by Atreides Management founder Gavin Baker.
Navigating export controls and executive controversy
Huang's resignation followed a wave of controversy triggered by extramarital affair allegations involving Alice Huang, a former executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed who faces scrutiny regarding restricted artificial intelligence chip shipments to China. While U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on November 12, 2026, that the Department of Justice has not yet determined whether allegations involving a foreign intelligence probe are founded, the situation has sensitive intersections between corporate leadership and U.S. export controls. Meanwhile, market fallout has been severe, with Nvidia shares sliding 4.34% on the day of the announcement and extending a cumulative decline of roughly 30.5% from its October peak, wiping out approximately $1.76 trillion in market value.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denied the allegations, stating that the United States should stop fabricating spy narratives. In Taiwan, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang stated that Alice Huang had indeed entered Taiwan and is currently abroad, noting that her permit had been revoked and that she would not be allowed to come to Taiwan again, with the National Immigration Agency fully cooperating with national security authorities in the investigation. Nvidia's announcement on November 12 did not specify the exact reason for Huang's resignation, outlining only three personnel moves: Kress serving concurrently as interim CEO, the launch of a formal CEO search evaluating both internal and external candidates, and Harvey C. Jones becoming Nvidia's first-ever chairman.
Industry partners warn of commercial disruption
The push to keep Huang in consideration has expanded beyond traditional equity holders into industrial partnerships. Elon Musk stated publicly on social media that if Huang cannot return to his original leadership position, some important business deals may be difficult to complete and could even fall apart. His remarks have kept the question of whether Huang will return to Nvidia burning, expanding the pressure on the board from institutional investors to industry partners. Nvidia's board, chaired by newly appointed lead Harvey C. Jones, has initiated a formal executive search through an independent firm to evaluate both internal and external candidates, leaving interim leadership under Kress while markets await definitive succession clarity.
The petition itself was independently launched by current and former employees and shareholders, and the website states it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nvidia, with signatories self-reporting their identities without independent verification. The open letter from Altimeter and Atreides notably did not address the substance of the controversies surrounding Huang's resignation, focusing instead on procedural fairness, arguing that the board should adopt a deliberate, prudent, and thoughtful process regarding Nvidia's future leadership rather than rushing to a permanent replacement.
The compounding pressure from both multi-billion-dollar institutional shareholders and industrial partners indicates that corporate governance at the world's second-most-valuable publicly traded company faces a protracted test of stability, where personal conduct controversies and geopolitical export controls intersect directly with executive retention.