Stand with Jensen Petition Tops 100,000 as Investors Urge Nvidia to Slow CEO Search

The Stand with Jensen petition passed 100,000 signatures on Saturday, November 14, 2026, turning a campaign to bring back Jensen Huang into a highly visible shareholder revolt. The milestone came a day after two of the chipmaker's biggest investors wrote to Nvidia's board asking for a slow, careful CEO search and to keep Huang's return on the table.

The petition, which calls on the board to reinstate Huang until an independent investigation confirms the facts, had passed 115,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon, according to TechCrunch. Its rise has been strikingly fast: the campaign stood at about 44,000 signatures on Friday, so it more than doubled in a single day.

Key Points

• The "Stand with Jensen" petition passed 100,000 signatures on Saturday, November 14, 2026, and topped 115,000 by Saturday afternoon.
• At the 100,000 mark, signatories included 5,248 current Nvidia employees, 922 former employees, 53,233 shareholders and 40,745 other supporters.
• Altimeter Capital chief executive Brad Gerstner and Atreides Management's Gavin Baker wrote to Nvidia's board on Friday, November 13, asking for a "slow, measured, and deliberate process" in the CEO search.
• The two investors, with combined Nvidia holdings of about $2.13 billion, asked the board to keep "the potential return of Jensen Huang" on the table.
• Huang resigned on Thursday, November 12, after 33 years leading Nvidia, amid a board investigation into reported affairs with a suspected Chinese spy.

What Happened

The petition crossed 100,000 by 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, according to counts cited by Yahoo Finance and MoneyWise. By Saturday afternoon, TechCrunch counted more than 115,000 signatures.

At 100,000 signatures the breakdown showed how broad the campaign had become: 5,248 current Nvidia employees, 922 former employees, 53,233 shareholders and 40,745 other supporters; later counts showed 5,965 current employees, 1,108 former employees and 63,063 shareholders.

The named signatories include some of Silicon Valley's best-known names, led by Elon Musk. Others include Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, Shopify chief executive Tobi Lutke, Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney, Y Combinator chief executive Garry Tan, Replit chief executive Amjad Masad, Cohere co-founder Aidan Gomez and Atreides Management's Gavin Baker. The campaign says the names are self-reported and unverified, and that it has no affiliation with Nvidia or Huang.

Background: Huang's Resignation After 33 Years

Huang resigned on Thursday, November 12, 2026, ending a 33-year run leading the company he co-founded in 1993. Under his leadership, Nvidia grew from a graphics-chip maker into the world's most valuable company and the dominant supplier of AI chips.

His departure followed a board investigation into reported affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy. The board named chief financial officer Colette Kress interim chief executive, appointed Harvey Jones board chair, and ordered an independent investigation by Wachtell Lipton and former federal prosecutor Joon H. Kim.

The board has begun sounding out successors — Arm chief executive Rene Haas has been approached, according to the Financial Times — but the petition and the investor letter now press it to avoid a rushed appointment while questions about Huang's exit remain unanswered.

Stand with Jensen Petition Passes 100,000 Signatures

The petition asks the board to reinstate Huang until an independent investigation confirms the facts. Its message is blunt: "Thirty-three years deserve an answer."

That framing has resonated far beyond Nvidia's workforce: shareholders are the largest group of signatories, giving the campaign a financial edge an employee-only effort would lack. More than 53,000 shareholders had signed by the time it hit 100,000.

The campaign's growth also reflects the unusual nature of Huang's exit: founders who build a company over three decades rarely leave in the middle of a boom. For now, the petition has no formal standing with the board — it is a public pressure campaign, not a shareholder resolution. But its scale, combined with the Gerstner-Baker letter, makes it much harder for the board to treat the CEO search as a routine appointment.

Reactions and Quotes

Gerstner and Baker chose their words carefully. Their letter asks the board for a "slow, measured, and deliberate process" on the CEO search and to keep "the potential return of Jensen Huang" on the table — stopping short of demanding his return, but signalling two major shareholders are not ready to accept a clean break. CNBC reported the letter on Saturday, November 14.

The petition itself is more direct, arguing Huang should be reinstated until an independent investigation confirms the facts and declaring that "Thirty-three years deserve an answer." Nvidia has not publicly responded to the petition or the letter. The board has said only that the investigation is under way and Kress will lead the company in the interim. Huang has not commented publicly since resigning.

Why It Matters

Nvidia is no ordinary company in transition: it is the central supplier of the AI era, and its leadership choices ripple through the whole technology industry. A rushed or contested appointment could unsettle customers, partners and investors while demand for AI chips is still surging.

The petition also tests how much voice shareholders and employees have when a board moves against a founder. Huang built Nvidia from a startup into a company worth trillions of dollars, and many signatories are the same employees and shareholders who benefited from that rise. For the board, the stakes are credibility as much as speed: naming a permanent successor before the investigation ends would invite questions about whether it had already made up its mind.

What Happens Next

The board's CEO search continues, with Arm's Rene Haas among the names approached; no timeline has been given. The investor letter argues none should be rushed. The independent investigation by Wachtell Lipton and Joon H. Kim is still under way, and its findings will shape whether Huang's return stays a live option.

The petition is still growing. If it keeps its pace, it will become one of the largest shareholder campaigns ever aimed at a single board decision — and the board will have to decide whether to answer it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the "Stand with Jensen" petition?
A public petition calling on Nvidia's board to reinstate Jensen Huang as chief executive until an independent investigation confirms the facts. It passed 100,000 signatures on Saturday, November 14, 2026.

Who signed the petition?
Elon Musk leads the signatories, joined by Tom Lee (Fundstrat), Tobi Lutke (Shopify), Tim Sweeney (Epic Games), Garry Tan (Y Combinator), Amjad Masad (Replit), Aidan Gomez (Cohere) and Gavin Baker (Atreides).

What did Brad Gerstner and Gavin Baker ask Nvidia's board?
In a letter sent Friday, November 13, they asked for a "slow, measured, and deliberate process" in the CEO search and to keep "the potential return of Jensen Huang" on the table — not his immediate reinstatement.

Why did Jensen Huang resign?
He resigned on Thursday, November 12, 2026, after 33 years leading Nvidia, amid a board investigation into reported affairs with a suspected Chinese spy.

Who is running Nvidia now?
Colette Kress, the chief financial officer, is interim chief executive and Harvey Jones is the new board chair. Arm chief executive Rene Haas has been approached about the permanent role.

Read more: Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO | Musk backs Huang reinstatement petition | Musk warns Nvidia will lose deals without Huang