Business1 min read

From washing dishes at Denny’s to rockstar of AI: the rise and fall of Nvidia’s Jensen Huang

By · Via The Guardian Business · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The co-founder's resignation was triggered by allegations involving relationships with an Nvidia executive and a Chinese spy, which contributed to the company's valuation sliding from its historic $5 trillion peak. After starting the enterprise at a diner booth in 1993, he steered the firm to dominate AI infrastructure by supplying vital networking gear, advanced processors, and proprietary software. Despite relinquishing the chief executive position, he remains the world's 13th richest individual through his substantial equity holding.

Key points

  • The departure abruptly ends a leadership run that began with the co-founding of Nvidia al…: The departure abruptly ends a leadership run that began with the co-founding of Nvidia alongside Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem in 1993.
  • The company's hardware evolved from 1999 GeForce gaming units into essential chips, netwo…: The company's hardware evolved from 1999 GeForce gaming units into essential chips, networking systems, and CUDA software powering tools like ChatGPT.
  • Allegations and subsequent executive turnover have swiftly eroded significant market capi…: Allegations and subsequent executive turnover have swiftly eroded significant market capitalization from one of the world's most valuable tech firms.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Jensen Huang wasn’t always in his trademark leather jacket. When the multibillionaire, now former Nvidia chief executive was a teenager in the US, his first job was waiting tables and washing dishes at a branch of Denny’s.

“It teaches you humility, it teaches you hard work, it teaches you hospitality,” he said in 2023 of his time at the diner chain.

Decades later, having become one of the richest people on the planet, Huang put on a Denny’s apron in tribute to his former employer at an Nvidia event in 2025.

By this point Huang had become a rockstar of the artificial intelligence boom – befitting his signature item of clothing – feted around the world by investors, fellow tech executives and politicians.

The company that Huang co-founded makes the computer chips that are integral to the development and operation of AI systems such as ChatGPT.

Demand for Nvidia’s products has surged as hundreds of billions of dollars have been poured into a technology that, according to its many promotors, will transform the global economy. The crude analogy is that…

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