Jensen Huang in comeback talks as Musk and Nvidia employees turn up heat on board
WASHINGTON,DC: Jensen Huang's exit from Nvidia may not be the last chapter of his 33-year association with the company.
Barely days after stepping down, the co-founder is reportedly discussing a possible return as CEO, even as his supporters work to convince the board to reverse its decision.
The campaign has drawn backing from some of Silicon Valley's most prominent names, including Elon Musk, and is now taking shape as an organized effort to bring Huang back.
BREAKING: Jensen Huang considering comeback as Nvidia's CEO, days after resigning, with Silicon Valley allies assembling a "war room" to lobby the board for his reinstatement, per FT. The main reason for the reinstatement discussion is US intelligence concluding it is not established that Alice Huang was acting as a spy for China. "No conclusions reached by the Department of Justice, or by me, or by Director Patel around who she is or is not," Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Officials at the DNI have described the characterization of her as a Chinese spy as over-torqued, and the CIA is not convinced the intelligence collected proves she was knowingly passing information to China. Scott Bessent and Marco Rubio, who were both part of the effort that led to the resignation, called on Sunday for a "dramatic shake-up" in leadership at the company.
— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) November 15, 2026
Huang discussing 'comeback' with allies
Jensen Huang's possible return to Nvidia is beginning to take shape as more than an online campaign.
The former CEO has reportedly discussed reclaiming his position with people in his inner circle, according to a 'Financial Times' report published Sunday, November 15.
The report cited people familiar with the conversations, which are taking place while Nvidia's board investigates the circumstances that led to his exit. A return, however, remains uncertain.
Behind the scenes, supporters are reportedly working to build pressure on the company's board.
One ally is assembling a network of Silicon Valley executives into what the report describes as a “war room.”
Their objective is to convince Nvidia's directors to restore Huang to the top position, while also seeking backing from the White House.
The effort has attracted influential supporters from the tech world, including Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk.
Musk has thrown his weight behind a public appeal for Huang's reinstatement and confirmed that he is among those who signed the petition.
The scale of the online campaign has also grown. The 'Stand With Jensen' website's latest tally stood at 157,032 signatures, with over 7,500 contributors claiming to be Nvidia employees.
Those workplace affiliations, however, have not been independently verified and are based entirely on information supplied by the signatories.
Bessent suggests external hiring
The push to bring Huang back comes as the Trump administration is calling for a change in Nvidia's leadership.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called for Nvidia to look outside its existing ranks for its next chief executive, arguing that the circumstances of Huang's departure warranted a change in leadership.
Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, Bessent said “This makes me think that as the board conducts a search for a new leader that they need to go outside the company.”
He added “They needed a dramatic shakeup”.
BREAKING: US Treasury Secretary Bessent says Nvidia, $NVDA, needs a "dramatic shakeup" after the Jensen Huang scandal. Bessent says he wants to shift the focus from Huang’s personal "foibles" to the legal and national-security aspects. "I want to keep coming back to what was the culture at Nvidia, and were they pressing these seemingly illicit sales to goose their revenues and their earnings?" Bessent said. He then demands answers from the board "within the next 10 days."
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) November 15, 2026
Bessent has also set a 10-day deadline for Nvidia's board and its external legal advisers to explain how the company handled suspected illicit sales of its AI chips.
He raised questions about whether Nvidia had identified warning signs involving shell companies allegedly used to channel restricted chips to China.
The comments come three days after Huang stepped down as Nvidia's president, CEO and board member on November 12, ending his 33-year association with the company.
His exit followed reports of alleged extramarital relationships, including one involving Alice Huang, a woman suspected by some US officials of having links to Chinese intelligence. However, US authorities have not reached a conclusion on whether she was acting as a spy.
