Altimeter and Atreides Press Nvidia Board to Keep Jensen Huang's Return on the Table

Gerstner, Altimeter's chief executive, posted the letter on X on Friday. Baker also signed it. The letter urges the board to "pursue a slow, measured, and deliberate process regarding the future leadership of Nvidia." It does not call for Huang to be reinstated immediately.

Both signatories are large holders. Nvidia was Altimeter's largest disclosed equity holding in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a 9.4 million-share stake worth nearly $1.9 billion as of June 30. Atreides held 1.2 million shares worth nearly $250 million at the end of June.

The letter says Nvidia will be "capably led" by interim chief executive Colette Kress. She was the company's chief financial officer for 13 years before the board announced on Thursday that she would lead Nvidia in Huang's absence. The letter concludes: "But the Founder and long time incredible leader of this extraordinary company has earned the right for a deliberate process that avoids any needless rush to replace him before all the facts are known."

Huang, Nvidia's founder, resigned amid allegations of several affairs, including one with Alice Huang, a suspected Chinese spy who also worked with Nvidia customer Megaspeed. The Justice Department is investigating the Singapore-based company over whether it redirected some of its supply of Nvidia's restricted AI chips to China.

Support for Huang has also come from outside the boardroom. A petition called "Stand with Jensen" that is circulating online claims more than 100,000 signatures, including more than 5,000 from current Nvidia employees. Elon Musk, the SpaceX chief executive, said on X on Friday that he had signed a petition asking for Huang to be reinstated. On Saturday he wrote that without Huang, some "critical deals will be lost."

A separate letter sent on Friday called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify about Megaspeed before the House Intelligence Committee. According to that letter, Lutnick has agreed to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 10 on whether the Commerce Department is "properly performing its broader role of preventing China from acquiring advanced AI chips." Huang has also been asked to testify.

The Commerce Department originally opened an investigation into Megaspeed, which was moved to the Justice Department in 2025 after Nvidia's lawyer contacted a senior Commerce official, according to The New York Times.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit China on Thursday. U.S. officials have said he does not plan to raise Nvidia or the suspected spy affair when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping. Musk is expected to join Trump on the trip to Shenzhen for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Nov. 18 and 19.