Eric Gullichsen, a member of NVIDIA's Technical Advisory Board since 1993, has revealed that he is considering legal action against the company, asserting that his rightful stock options were not properly exercised.
Former NVIDIA Technical Advisor to Take Legal Action Over Loss of 4.5 Million Unexercised Shares
This article is a translation. Read the Japanese original
According to Mr. Gullichsen, 25,000 stock options granted in September 1993 were subject to a contract with a one-year vesting period. However, a notice sent by the company in 1996 erroneously claimed that the vesting period was four years, and he exercised a portion of his rights following that notice.
He later pointed out that, according to the actual contract, all shares should have vested within one year. Considering the impact of NVIDIA's stock splits, the 9,375 unexercised shares are now equivalent to approximately 4.5 million shares.
Mr. Gullichsen has sought a resolution from NVIDIA through his lawyer, but the company has rejected the claim, stating that the statute of limitations has expired. Mr. Gullichsen has made this matter public as a lesson regarding the fulfillment of contractual obligations.
Sources
- Owed a billion dollars in Nvidia stock （Hacker News Frontpage、2026-09-28）
- US5796426A