How Jensen Huang handled his return to NVIDIA headquarters
What's the story
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang returned to the company's Santa Clara, California headquarters on Monday. This was a day after he admitted to an extramarital affair. According to CNBC, Huang held his regular morning meeting with top-level executives during his return. The mood at NVIDIA has been described as "sad" by employees in light of these revelations.
Apology
Huang apologizes to staff during closed-door meeting
During a closed-door meeting, Huang addressed his infidelity and expressed remorse to his staff. However, he didn't entertain any questions and quickly shifted focus to business matters.
The CEO was also present in the office on Tuesday, holding meetings ahead of NVIDIA's quarterly earnings report.
Despite the ongoing investigation into his affair with an alleged Chinese spy, Huang tried to maintain a "business as usual" demeanor at work.
Investigation
Board launches investigation into the matter
In light of the affair revelation, NVIDIA's board has launched an investigation and hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct it.
Employees have expressed shock over Huang's revelations. Many long-term employees viewed him as an idol who could do no wrong, and are now struggling to come to terms with his actions.
Scrutiny
Concerns over AI chip sales to China
The news of Huang's affair has raised questions about his continued support for more AI chip sales to China.
The CEO co-founded NVIDIA in 1993 to build graphics processing units for video game graphics.
In recent years, the company has been at the forefront of the AI boom, powering technologies behind large language models and massive data center expansions.