Patric Gullichsen, an early advisor to Nvidia, claims the company owes him stock worth approximately $1.01 billion. The dispute stems from a 1993 option grant of 25,000 shares, which Gullichsen argues should have vested within one year rather than the four-year period applied by the company.
Documentation provided by Gullichsen includes a 1993 grant letter signed by CEO Jensen Huang, which states that shares vest after one year. However, a 1996 letter from the company's CFO indicated that only 15,625 shares had vested, consistent with a four-year schedule. Gullichsen contends that 9,375 additional shares should have vested.
After accounting for stock splits totaling 480x, Gullichsen estimates he is owed 4.5 million shares. At the Nvidia closing price of $225.07 on September 25, 2024, this stake is valued at roughly $1.01 billion. Gullichsen engaged legal counsel to pursue the claim, but Nvidia rejected his settlement proposal.
Gullichsen and his legal team acknowledged that the statute of limitations presents a significant barrier to litigation, noting that the exercise window for the original options closed in July 1996. Nvidia has not issued a public response regarding the claims.
