Jensen Huang Joins the Roster of Founders Forced Out of Their Own Companies

Jensen Huang resigned as CEO of Nvidia on Thursday amid an internal investigation into two extramarital affairs, one of them with a woman U.S. intelligence identified as a suspected Chinese spy. His exit places him on a long list of high-profile founders who were fired or forced out of the companies they built.

The scrutiny that ended Huang's tenure centered on his relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. U.S. intelligence identified her as a Chinese intelligence asset operating under corporate cover, according to the report. The New York Times then reported a second affair, with an Nvidia employee who reported directly to him.

The company Huang leaves behind is one of the defining hardware firms of the AI era. Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem — three electrical engineers who sketched their plan at a Denny's restaurant in California's Bay Area.

Why does a founder exit matter?

Founders carry symbolic and operational weight. Boards, investors and regulators judge a company's stability by how it handles a leadership crisis at the top. Huang's departure, triggered by a counterintelligence concern rather than poor performance, is the latest in a decades-long pattern of founders pushed out under pressure.

Here are the most notable cases.

Jack Dorsey — Twitter, 2021

Jack Dorsey resigned as CEO of Twitter, now X, in 2021 and left its board a year later. He co-founded the social media platform in 2006 and, at the time of his exit, simultaneously served as CEO of the payments company Square. Investors and observers had grown concerned that his focus was split between the two companies, while Twitter also faced regular criticism over perceived bias against conservative voices.

"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," Dorsey said at the time of his departure.

Mike Lazaridis — BlackBerry maker RIM, 2012

Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of Research In Motion (RIM), stepped down in 2012 alongside co-CEO Jim Balsillie as the cellphone pioneer struggled to compete with Apple. The pair had revolutionized mobile technology with the BlackBerry, which became an indispensable business tool for its game-changing features. The company lost market share rapidly and fell into obscurity after Apple released the iPhone in 2007.

Travis Kalanick — Uber, 2017

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick was ousted from the rideshare giant in 2017 under mounting investor pressure. He was forced to resign after a string of scandals involving a toxic workplace culture, regulatory battles and allegations of sexual harassment.

"I love Uber more than anything in the world, and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors' request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight," Kalanick wrote in an email to employees upon his exit.

David Neeleman — JetBlue, 2007

JetBlue founder David Neeleman was removed as chief executive of the airline in 2007, months after a major operational meltdown. Neeleman, who helped launch the carrier in 1998, was shifted into the role of non-executive chairman. His ouster followed severe service disruptions during a Valentine's Day ice storm that stranded passengers on tarmac-bound planes for hours. The disruptions produced nearly 1,200 flight cancellations over several days and cost the airline more than $30 million.

Dov Charney — American Apparel, 2014

In 2014, the board of American Apparel Inc. moved to fire founder and CEO Dov Charney over alleged misconduct. Charney founded the company as a wholesale T-shirt business in 1998 and built it with provocative advertising imagery. His personal behavior drew intense scrutiny, including reports that he openly discussed his sex life and occasionally walked around his factory in his underwear. He also faced multiple sexual harassment lawsuits from former employees.

Sandy Lerner — Cisco Systems, 1990

Sandy Lerner, who co-founded Cisco Systems with her then-husband Leonard Bosack, was fired from the networking giant in 1990 amid growing friction with the board and upper management. After her removal, Bosack resigned in solidarity.

George Zimmer — Men's Wearhouse, 2013

Men's Wearhouse founder George Zimmer, recognizable to millions of television viewers for pitching suits in commercials, was terminated in 2013 amid clashes with board members. Zimmer said he had raised concerns about the company's strategic direction.

"Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the boardroom that has, in part, contributed to our success, the board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns by terminating me as an executive officer," Zimmer said in a statement at the time.

Jerry Yang — Yahoo, 2008

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as chief executive in 2008 and cut all remaining ties with the company by resigning from its board in 2012. His exit appeased shareholders who criticized him for impeding investment deals that could have transformed the company — particularly his handling of an aborted $44.6 billion buyout offer from Microsoft in 2008, Reuters reported at the time.

Andrew Mason — Groupon, 2013

The e-commerce marketplace fired co-founder Andrew Mason as CEO in 2013 after he failed to halt the company's sliding share price. Mason acknowledged in a candid departure letter that he was getting in the way of the business and had fallen short as a leader.

"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you're wondering why ... you haven't been paying attention," Mason wrote in a memo to employees.

Steve Jobs — Apple, 1985

Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985 after a boardroom power struggle with upper management. The board brought him back in 1997, and he went on to orchestrate one of the most historic corporate turnarounds in business history.

Sam Altman — OpenAI, 2023

OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman was abruptly fired by the company's board of directors in 2023 — and reinstated five days later after a near-total revolt by company employees. The episode became a defining governance test for the AI industry's most valuable startup.

What comes next for Nvidia?

Huang's case differs from most entries on this list in one respect: the trigger was a national-security concern, not operational failure or investor rebellion. Nvidia now faces the governance question that has confronted every company on this list — whether the institution built by a founder can survive the founder's abrupt absence.