The supplied article claims that Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned Thursday amid an internal investigation into alleged relationships with two women, including one it describes as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. These claims have not been independently verified here.
Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 with fellow electrical engineers Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. The trio reportedly came up with the idea at a Denny’s in California’s Bay Area.
The article places Huang among a number of founders who have left companies they helped build. Other prominent examples include:
Jack Dorsey stepped down as Twitter’s CEO in 2021 and left its board the following year. He had co-founded the company in 2006 and was also leading payments firm Square. Some observers questioned whether he could give both businesses enough attention, while Twitter faced criticism over its content policies. Dorsey said he believed the company was ready to move on from its founders.
Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie left their co-CEO roles at Research In Motion in 2012. The company, which made BlackBerry phones, had once transformed business communications, but struggled to keep pace after Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007.
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned as CEO in 2017 after investors pushed for his departure. The company was facing scrutiny over its workplace culture, regulatory disputes and sexual harassment allegations. Kalanick said he was stepping aside so Uber could focus on building the business rather than being caught up in another fight.
JetBlue founder David Neeleman was removed as CEO in 2007 after major service disruptions during a February ice storm. Nearly 1,200 flights were canceled over several days, and passengers were left waiting for hours aboard planes. The disruption reportedly cost the airline more than $30 million. Neeleman became non-executive chairman.
American Apparel’s board moved to fire founder and CEO Dov Charney in 2014 over alleged misconduct. Charney, who started the company as a wholesale T-shirt business in 1998, had drawn attention for the provocative marketing of its clothes. He also faced sexual harassment lawsuits brought by former employees.
Sandy Lerner, who co-founded Cisco Systems with her then-husband Leonard Bosack, was dismissed from the company in 1990 amid disagreements with the board and senior management. Bosack resigned afterward.
George Zimmer, founder of Men’s Wearhouse and a familiar face in the company’s television ads, was fired in 2013 after disagreements with board members. He said he had raised concerns about the company’s strategy and criticized the board for ending his role rather than discussing those concerns.
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang left the CEO position in 2008 and resigned from the board in 2012. Shareholders had criticized his handling of potential deals, including Microsoft’s abandoned $44.6 billion acquisition offer in 2008.
Groupon co-founder Andrew Mason was dismissed as CEO in 2013 as the company’s share price continued to fall. In a memo to employees, Mason joked about wanting more time with his family, then acknowledged that he had been fired and had not been paying enough attention to the company’s problems.
Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985 after a power struggle with senior executives. He returned in 1997 and led the company through a major turnaround.
OpenAI’s board fired co-founder Sam Altman in 2023. He was reinstated five days later after employees strongly opposed the decision.
