Nvidia shares fell on Thursday, November 12, in the United States. The world's leading manufacturer of components for artificial intelligence is paying the price for the sudden departure of its founder and chief executive, Jensen Huang.
Jensen Huang, aged 63, co-founded Nvidia in 1993. He has led the group since that date.
The stock lost as much as 13% during the session before recovering late in the day. It closed down 5%.
Since Monday, $500 billion in market capitalization has gone up in smoke, or a little more than 450 billion euros.
Beyond the share price, investors are questioning the group's future. The decline comes as this world leader in electronic components is at the height of its glory.
To settle the matter, Nvidia must convene its board of directors next Tuesday. The meeting is being held in a climate of fear: the markets dread seeing the artificial intelligence bubble burst for good.
Under his leadership, the company became the world's leading designer of electronic chips used to train and run artificial intelligence models.
For now, he remains Nvidia's largest individual shareholder and holds nearly 4% of the capital.
The fall of this boss in a black leather jacket goes beyond the fate of the company alone. Fallen from grace, he had advocated an easing of chip export restrictions, particularly toward China.