Jensen Huang in talks to return as Nvidia CEO just four days after resignation

Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is pushing to return to the helm of the company just four days after his resignation. Major Silicon Valley executives and Nvidia shareholders have rallied behind him, but opposition from the US government and a potentially resistant board of directors stand in the way.

The Financial Times reported Sunday (local time), citing multiple sources, that Huang recently discussed options for reclaiming the CEO role with close associates.

One of Huang's allies said a "war room" of senior Silicon Valley executives is being assembled to support his return. The group plans to mount a public relations campaign on his behalf and pursue White House backing, sources said.

A public campaign calling for Huang's reinstatement is also gaining momentum.

An online petition titled "Stand with Jensen" has collected more than 156,000 signatures.

Among those who have publicly signed on are Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla; Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games; Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator; and Aidan Gomez, co-founder of Cohere.

Huang still commands fierce loyalty from Nvidia employees as well, with staff members identifying themselves as company workers in publicly signing the petition and urging his return.

Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, and Gavin Baker, founder of Atreides Management — both major Nvidia shareholders — have already written to the board demanding that it "discuss all options, including the return of Jensen Huang."

"Everyone in tech except the frontier labs loves Jensen Huang," one of his allies said.

The central question is whether Huang can win over Washington. The allegations surrounding him go beyond a personal affair: they are also tied to suspicions that Nvidia semiconductors were exported to China in circumvention of US export control regulations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also weighed in Sunday (local time), citing Nvidia's accountability and urging a "sweeping overhaul," calling on the company to find a successor from outside.

Another obstacle is that Huang does not hold a controlling stake in Nvidia, meaning any bid to return would require him to prevail against the board.

The new management team is focused on stabilizing the company ahead of Nvidia's third-quarter earnings release Tuesday.

Huang resigned Thursday, with Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress taking over as interim CEO.