Authors: Paresh Dave, Zoë Schiffer, WIRED

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide: After Jensen Huang's abrupt departure due to multiple allegations of extramarital affairs, Nvidia's internal environment did not descend into the anticipated clean-up. Instead, a large number of employees have shown staunch support for the founder. The internal "suggestion box" has received over 1,600 comments, with the vast majority of employees urging the board to consider their wishes and calling for Jensen Huang to return to his position.

This personnel storm has led to a vaporization of Nvidia's market value by hundreds of billions of dollars and has prompted investigations by U.S. regulators. However, from internal emails to social media, many employees firmly believe that Nvidia's rise is entirely due to Jensen Huang's leadership abilities, and they have expressed deep concerns about the company's future direction in the decision to make a rapid leadership change just as investigations were beginning.

The internal suggestion box has flooded with support messages, “Bring back the real helmsman”

According to internal communication records reviewed by WIRED, despite Jensen Huang being exposed for multiple extramarital affairs and suddenly announcing his resignation, some Nvidia employees have publicly called for him to return to his position.

Before Jensen Huang officially resigned, a senior engineer at Nvidia initiated a proposal in the company’s internal “suggestion box,” urging the board to seriously consider employee opinions and voices before taking any action.

Since the proposal was released, it has attracted over 1,600 employee comments, with many explicitly requesting board members to find a way to bring back Jensen Huang.

One anonymous employee wrote in a comment, “If you truly believe in our mission, please bring back the real helmsman.”

Another employee stated, “We are all human and can make mistakes. Jensen Huang has made tremendous contributions to Nvidia and deserves a second chance.”

Employees send mass emails demanding openness and transparency, strongly supporting leadership achievements

There was even an employee who sent a mass email to the entire company, demanding that the board maintain high transparency regarding Jensen Huang's resignation process.

This employee wrote in the email, “I firmly support Jensen Huang. This is not because I think anyone is perfect, but because I believe that maintaining fairness does not mean alienating a leader who is incredibly significant to us.”

The employee has not responded to comment requests, and the engineer who initiated the suggestion box post also declined to comment. Nvidia and newly appointed board chairman, early investor Harvey Jones, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Crisis impacts hundreds of billions in market value, lightning resignation triggers internal shock

The 63-year-old Jensen Huang has been at the helm of Nvidia since its founding in 1993. In an internal email to employees on Sunday, he admitted to being “unfaithful to his wife” and stated “there are no excuses.”

This statement came after reports alleging that he had an inappropriate relationship with a person possibly connected to foreign intelligence. The board officially announced Jensen Huang's resignation on Thursday morning, following earlier reports accusing him of having an affair with a direct subordinate (the employee declined to comment on this).

Subsequently, Reuters reported further allegations against Jensen Huang, suggesting he had an affair with another Nvidia employee. Since sending out the email on Sunday, Jensen Huang himself has not publicly commented on these reports.

The Nvidia board primarily consists of early investors and Jensen Huang's long-time confidants. The board has now appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO and appointed former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones as board chairman.

Since the exposure of the related allegations, this turmoil has led to a nearly $100 billion evaporation in Nvidia's market value and has prompted investigations by U.S. Congress members and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), while also exacerbating market concerns about tighter chip export controls.

Internally seen as irreplaceable, “Nvidia's achievements are all due to Jensen Huang”

Although the daily operations of the company have continued as usual this week, Jensen Huang's sudden resignation has left many employees feeling shocked and stunned.

Within hours of the news, about twenty employees posted on LinkedIn publicly supporting Jensen Huang, with one describing their trust in his leadership as unshakeable. During the same period, WIRED found no posts from Nvidia employees supporting Jensen Huang's resignation.

An employee who has worked at Nvidia for several years and was not authorized to speak publicly told WIRED that the call for Jensen Huang to return is very common within the company.

This employee is very worried that losing the founder's guidance will ultimately lead to significant losses for Nvidia and frankly stated that the board must bring him back: “Nvidia is what it is all because of Jensen Huang.”

Many employees originally expected the board to initiate significant adjustments only after conducting a thorough investigation and reaching conclusions. For instance, posts in the internal suggestion box called for the board to publicly share the investigation results with employees and formally seek their opinions on “whether Jensen Huang should continue serving as CEO.”

However, just as the investigation was just beginning, Jensen Huang had already hurriedly left his position. Employees are eagerly hoping to clarify the real reasons behind this. As the employee who candidly spoke in the mass email wrote: “If America betrays a leader who helped forge its future, then the world does not deserve Jensen Huang.”