After Nvidia's trillion-dollar leap, meet Jensen Huang, Nvidia founder and CEO

From Denny’s to Nvidia

Huang and fellow founders Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky began Nvidia at a Denny’s in northern California in 1993. Huang had worked at a Denny’s in Portland from age 15, washing dishes and bussing and waiting tables.

Nvidia released the GeForce 256 in 1999, describing it as the first graphics processing unit, or GPU. The company now supplies chips used by technology firms to train generative AI models. Priem served as chief technical officer from 1993 to 2003, while Malachowsky is a senior technology executive at Nvidia.

Nvidia’s rise and Huang’s style

Nvidia joined the group of companies valued at more than $1 trillion in 2023, becoming one of the world’s most valuable companies. As of June 2025, Huang owned about 3.77% of its outstanding shares and was its largest individual shareholder, according to a proxy statement.

Huang’s approach includes skipping one-on-one meetings, overseeing around 60 direct reports, giving feedback publicly and sending staff hundreds of emails a day. He has described himself as having workaholic tendencies, saying he works 14-hour days and on holidays. His black leather jacket is a familiar part of his public appearances.

Board inquiry and reported relationship

The Times identified the person as Alice Huang, the former CEO of a Singapore-based cloud computing company. US officials believed she had a relationship with Huang and was a Chinese intelligence asset; Beijing strongly denied the allegations. Huang wrote, “I have fallen short of that responsibility,” referring to his duty to serve Nvidia and earn trust.