A volunteer-led petition urging Nvidia’s board to reinstate co-founder Jensen Huang as chief executive has rapidly gathered more than 120,000 signatures in the days following his resignation. The campaign, known as Stand With Jensen, lists thousands of self-identified current and former employees alongside tens of thousands of shareholders among its backers. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk publicly joined the effort and warned that Huang’s departure could jeopardize key supply-chain relationships built on personal trust.

Huang stepped down as president, chief executive and board member on November 12 after 33 years at the company he co-founded. The move followed his disclosure of extramarital relationships and reports that one of those relationships involved a Megaspeed executive whom U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly suspected of links to Chinese intelligence. China rejected the allegations as groundless. Nvidia stated it had no reason to believe national security or confidential company information had been compromised. The board retained outside counsel, including former federal prosecutor Joon H. Kim and the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to conduct an independent inquiry.

Petition Demands and Growing Support

The Stand With Jensen campaign describes itself as an independent volunteer effort with no affiliation to Nvidia or Huang. Its open letter to the board calls for Huang’s immediate reinstatement while an independent investigation establishes the facts. If directors determine his continued absence is necessary, the petition asks them to provide a specific, evidence-based explanation, disclose the inquiry’s scope, independence and timeline, and give Huang a meaningful opportunity to respond. Organizers also request that the board explain how employee and shareholder interests were considered.

Signature tallies climbed quickly after the site launched. By November 14, the total exceeded 120,000, with more than 6,000 people identifying as current Nvidia employees, over 1,100 as former employees and more than 65,000 as shareholders. Earlier counts showed progressive growth through the day, passing 78,000, 83,000, 90,000 and 100,000 at successive checkpoints. Affiliations are self-reported and unverified by the organizers. Public figures whose names appeared include Musk, Replit chief executive Amjad Masad, Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney and Bitmine chairman Tom Lee.

Organizers have taken steps to address concerns about the petition’s integrity. They announced they are actively removing fake entries and working to prevent abuse. The campaign identified a single official account on X and warned supporters not to trust impostor profiles. Artificial intelligence filters are used to screen clearly malicious submissions, with human review applied to questionable ones. Plans are underway for a more secure identity-verification process aimed at current employees.

Leadership Transition and Market Context

Nvidia appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive while she continues to oversee finance. Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys chief executive, was named the company’s first board chair. Directors said operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap were expected to continue without interruption. A search for a permanent chief executive is underway and includes both internal and external candidates. The company kept its quarterly results scheduled for November 17.

Nvidia’s bylaws place sole authority over executive appointments with the board. With ten directors remaining, six would need to support any reinstatement. Huang’s reported voting stake does not give him the power to compel the board’s decision. The petition therefore functions as a public expression of sentiment rather than a formal mechanism for change. The board has not issued a public response to the campaign.

Prediction markets registered a modest uptick in the odds of Huang’s return after the petition gained traction, though those odds remained low relative to other potential candidates discussed by market participants. Shares of Nvidia closed on November 12 roughly 11 percent below their level from six days earlier as the leadership change took effect.

The rapid accumulation of signatures and high-profile endorsements have kept attention focused on the company’s succession process in the days ahead of the upcoming earnings release and related communications from interim leadership.