115,000 Signatures Demand Nvidia Reinstate Ousted CEO Jensen Huang

A petition demanding Nvidia reinstate its ousted CEO Jensen Huang passed 115,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon, less than two days after his resignation.

The numbers break down in a way that shows how deep the discontent runs inside the company itself. According to the petition website, the signers include 5,965 current Nvidia employees, 1,108 former employees, and 63,063 shareholders. The remainder of the signatories is not itemized on the site.

The list of notable supporters reads like a roll call of tech's leadership tier. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, and Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan have all put their names on the document.

Takeaway: this isn't a grassroots grumble — it's employees, shareholders and rival CEOs pulling in the same direction.

What exactly does the petition demand?

The petition's core claim is procedural, not personal. Its signers state they are "concerned that Jensen was removed without meaningful due process" and demand that the board "bring him back while an independent investigation establishes the facts."

It pushes two further asks:

• The board must ensure a fair, independent investigation into the circumstances of Huang's exit.
• The board must provide more information to the public.

The petition's sharpest line is direct: "Jensen deserves due process, not mob justice."

In plain words: the signers want Huang restored to the corner office before anyone decides what actually happened.

Why did Huang resign in the first place?

Huang resigned on Thursday — four days after confessing to an affair with a chip executive who U.S. intelligence suspects of being a Chinese spy. That timeline matters. The board did not remove him at the moment the affair surfaced; his exit came after the confession had been public for nearly a week.

The former CEO has agreed to testify before Congress. News reports have also suggested Huang engaged in multiple extramarital affairs, extending the story beyond the single relationship that first drew scrutiny.

Takeaway: the due-process argument rests on a fast-moving sequence — confession on the record, resignation four days later.

Who is running Nvidia now?

Nvidia appointed CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. No timeline for that search has been disclosed.

The market has already voted. Nvidia's stock price fell sharply through the week of Huang's departure, and the petition's 63,063 shareholder signatures suggest at least some of that investor base blames the board rather than the CEO.

Takeaway: Kress inherits a company with a falling share price and an internal campaign to undo the board's decision.

What does Huang's exit mean for AI funding?

The consequences reach past Nvidia's own share price. Huang's departure is expected to leave a big gap in AI industry funding, according to the source — a hole that hits at a moment when capital allocation in the sector leans heavily on Nvidia's ecosystem and its leader's standing.

With Musk, Tan, Sweeney and Masad publicly backing reinstatement, the pressure on Nvidia's board now comes from four directions at once: employees, shareholders, peers, and a congressional testimony still ahead.

The board's next move — an independent investigation, a permanent CEO hire, or a reversal — will determine whether this becomes a leadership transition or a full-blown governance crisis.

By Grace Kim