Jensen Huang's emotional family confession resurfaces after Nvidia exit: ‘I have missed all their...'

Jensen Huang, the CEO of tech giant NVIDIA, is in the spotlight, for all the wrong reasons. His recent resignation following the revealations of his extra-marital affair, has brought renewed attention to his 2018 interview where he opened up about the personal sacrifices behind building the chipmaker. He recalled missing out on his kids' karate tournaments and much of their childhood due to his long working hours.

Jensen Huang recalls missing his children's childhood

In May 2018, Guy Raz and Huang met at Nvidia's headquarters and discussed candidly about the techie's childhood, company's difficult years, missing out on his children's milestones and decisions that made the chipmaker a major force in the technology industry. While speaking to Guy, Jensen mentioned that building something great requires immense endurance and that he has spent his life "trying to forget yesterday".

When asked about the sacrifices including long working hours and time he spent away from family, Huang recalled that he was pursuing his master's degree at Stanford while he had young children and was managing the company. He added, "And yeah, I missed all their karate tournaments. I missed a lot. I missed a lot,” he admitted.


Jensen Huang had credited his now ex-wife, Lori, for holding the family together, while he was busy with Nvidia. “If you're going to build a company, you need somebody strong and you need somebody amazing like my wife,” he said, adding that she “took care of everything”. He further shared how he never heard her complain about his demanding work and long working hours and called it "the gift" that she gave him.

In the same interview, he revealed that despite having spent time away from his children, Spencer and Madison followed the journey of NVIDIA closely. He said, “I've missed most of theirs. They've been to all of mine,” he said. At the time of the interview, Spencer was 35, Madison was 34 and Nvidia was 33 years old.

Why did Jensen Huang resign from Nvidia?

Huang's departure came after reports of extramarital relationships triggered intense scrutiny. The New York Times reported that US intelligence agencies suspected businesswoman Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, of having links to Chinese intelligence and alleged that she had been passing information to Beijing. China has denied the allegations. Nvidia had said it was investigating whether Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

The controversy intensified after reports emerged of another relationship involving an Nvidia executive who reportedly worked under Huang. Reuters later reported an intimate relationship with a second employee, citing unnamed sources.

Over the weekend, Huang apologised to his wife and children in an email to employees, writing that he had been “unfaithful" to his wife. He added, “My actions hurt her and our children,” and said his colleagues “deserve better” from him.

On November 12, Nvidia announced that Huang had resigned as president, CEO and a member of its board, effective immediately. The company did not specify a reason for his resignation in its announcement. CFO and executive vice president Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO.