On the evening of November 12, 2026, Beijing time, a night destined to be written into the history of technology unfolded.
Thirty-three years ago, an Asian face founded a chip company in a Silicon Valley garage. Thirty-three years later, he personally propelled that company to the pinnacle of global market capitalization. Then, on an ordinary Thursday morning, he was ousted by his own board of directors — NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang officially resigned as CEO.
The moment the news broke, the tech world, Wall Street, and Washington — almost everyone stopped what they were doing and began debating the same question: Was this NVIDIA saving itself, or was it an irreversible historic mistake?
Some say this marks the end of an era
Jensen Huang biographer Stephen Witt voiced what many were thinking on CNBC: "Jensen Huang is NVIDIA. It's like the Bulls without Jordan. I don't know how they replace this person."
He also shared a detail: Jensen Huang could draw from memory an exploded diagram of every single component in NVIDIA's equipment — "This kind of person, I don't know how they replace him."
Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke called the CEO transition a "generational blunder." He warned that NVIDIA could become a poor imitation of the company Jensen Huang created: "No one can replace a founder like Jensen Huang."
Prominent investor Naval Ravikant cited two historical cases — Apple firing Steve Jobs and Uber pushing out Travis Kalanick — and asked: "Have we not learned yet that you cannot simply replace a founder?" Musk replied below with two words: "True words."
Some say NVIDIA will be fine
Tech heavyweight and CNBC host Jim Cramer, known for his loud voice and quick reactions, did not mince words this time: "They had to do it. There was too much evidence."
He then praised Colette Kress, whom the board appointed as interim CEO: "I really admire Colette, and I think she will do an excellent job steadying the ship."
Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber, who describes himself as a "long-term NVIDIA investor," compared the moment to when Steve Jobs left: "Back then, many people thought Apple was finished. It turned out to be just the beginning." He said AI will continue, NVIDIA will continue, but this moment is indeed painful.
Crypto investor Anthony Pompliano was more aggressive: "Today is very likely the bottom of the AI sell-off. The CEO of the world's largest company resigning — that is the maximum level of capitulation signal."
Some say they will always stand with Jensen Huang
However, the louder voices were those of regret.
Perplexity AI founder Aravind Srinivas posted a thank-you message: "Thank you, Jensen Huang, for 33 years of courageous leadership. You built a small startup into America's most valuable company... The time and advice you gave to founders like me laid the foundation for the future of AI."
Musk reposted a line from the film AIR — "You will be remembered forever, because some things are eternal" — and attached a single name: "Jensen."
Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein quoted a saying attributed to Charles de Gaulle: "I feel for Jensen Huang. A Shakespearean tragedy. But as de Gaulle said — 'The graveyards are full of indispensable men.'"
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao wrote directly: "NVIDIA letting Jensen Huang go is a mistake."
Lex Fridman's post was the longest and most emotionally charged of the day. He said NVIDIA letting Jensen Huang go "is a replay of the Apple firing Steve Jobs story, but with greater impact," because AI's significance to humanity's future is incomparable. He said he had spent years with Jensen Huang and witnessed the humility and kindness he showed to ordinary people when the cameras were off: "I have never heard a single bad word from anyone who knows him, including hundreds of engineers, CEOs, friends... probably over a thousand people." He said: I stand with Jensen Huang.
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney wrote: "This is a sad day for NVIDIA, for developers, for America, and for all of humanity." — Musk also reposted this post.
Some keep buying, some refuse to buy again
The market is always pragmatic.
Singaporean billionaire Leo KoGuan holds approximately $1.3 billion in NVIDIA shares. After the news broke, he posted on X, direct and unambiguous, without any rhetoric: "Without Jensen Huang, I will not buy more."
He called Jensen Huang the "supreme creator" and wrote: "America is a civilization of creators. We cherish, celebrate, and reward creators. Creators first, regulators second, distributors third. Today, we put regulators first."
He said that if Jensen Huang were to found or acquire a new company in the future, he hopes to have the opportunity to invest.
Analyst Dan Ives likewise believed the board had no choice. Even before the resignation was officially announced, he had already given his valuation assessment: "Without Jensen Huang, NVIDIA stock is worth $225; with him, it's $300."
Analyst Gene Munster's post was concise and blunt: "The unknown is now known. NVIDIA stock will gap down this morning, find a bottom around $150, and then the market will turn its attention back to what really matters." He added that AI demand is still accelerating, and NVIDIA GPUs remain the clear winner.
Prominent Chinese investor Duan Yongping also stated he would not sell NVIDIA and sold a large number of put options on the day the news was announced. He believes NVIDIA may invite Jensen Huang to serve as an advisor, taking on a role similar to a "shadow CEO," retaining influence but no longer having signing authority — and a clear conclusion on this direction may only emerge after the hearings conclude.
Will he return in three years?
Perhaps the most interesting prediction came from former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. He posted: "My prediction: In 3 to 4 years, NVIDIA will have one or two quarters of disappointing results, and then they will bring Jensen Huang back to take the helm again. Just like a celebrity scandal, everyone is outraged for 15 minutes, and then it passes. And what Americans love most is a comeback story. Wait and see."
This passage spread rapidly online. Some mocked it as naive; others said it saw through everything.
After all, Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985, returned in 1997, and then brought the iPhone.
The words of Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue may be the simplest and most genuine summary of the whole affair. His company is being acquired by NVIDIA for $12.9 billion, and the future of that deal now carries an additional question mark. He wrote on social media: "This whole thing is terrible. I wish none of this had happened. This is truly a sad day."
Then he shifted tone and announced he would continue to push the open-source AI cause — "harder than ever before."
This is perhaps part of what Jensen Huang left behind: the people he ignited are still burning.
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