Elon Musk has thrown his weight behind calls for Jensen Huang to return as the chief executive of Nvidia, bringing more attention to the tech company’s leadership crisis.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO publicly supported a petition calling for Huang’s reinstatement after the Nvidia co-founder resigned from his position following 33 years with the company.
Musk replied on X (formerly Twitter) on November 13 to a post about bringing Huang back: “Petition is going around to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too.” His statement was immediately noticed by tech industry insiders because Musk wields influence and is close to the global AI sector.
Musk also praised Huang when another social media user said that he should hire the former Nvidia chief. When asked if hiring Huang would be an honour Musk replied “yes”.
Huang’s sudden exit has sparked debate among Nvidia employees, technology experts and industry watchers. He co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and was at the centre of transforming the company from graphics processing unit maker to one of the world’s most influential semiconductor businesses.
Nvidia graphics processors have become the backbone of AI technologies development and expansion as data centres, supercomputing systems and AI applications around the world depend on them.
An internal post on Nvidia’s employee suggestion site has received more than 1,600 comments so far (according to technology publication WIRED), and the original submission asked the company’s board “to take employee views into account before making decisions about Huang’s future.” Some employees reportedly used that discussion to say they wanted him back.
Some employees reportedly said Huang’s leadership and long-term vision were inextricably linked to Nvidia’s success. Another employee sent a company-wide email asking for more transparency on his exit.
Huang’s resignation came after reports on his personal relationships including one about a woman that some US intelligence officials suspect has links to Chinese intelligence.
Nvidia’s board had announced earlier in the week an independent probe into reports that its founder may have been targeted by foreign intelligence efforts but said it “has no reason to believe confidential information or national security was compromised.”
Huang left Nvidia and the company’s chief financial officer Colette Kress became interim CEO. The board is considering internal candidates as well as external ones while looking for a permanent replacement.
Meanwhile Reuters said Nvidia’s board had approached Arm Holdings chief executive Rene Haas as a possible successor. Haas used to work for Nvidia and is one of the candidates being considered for the top job but Nvidia has said speculation about individual candidates is premature.
Musk’s public support has also added another dimension to the debate about Nvidia’s leadership transition employee support and outside endorsements have increased calls for Huang’s return but the company’s board hasn’t announced any decision to reverse his resignation.
For now, Nvidia has to manage its leadership transition while keeping employees, investors and business partners confident. Will calls for Huang’s reinstatement change the board’s mind
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