Jensen Huang’s quiet role emerges as Argamani describes Nvidia’s two-year vigil for Avinatan Or
In a personal post after visiting Nvidia’s U.S. headquarters, Argamani recounts two years of daily vigils, preserved workspace, and direct support from CEO Jensen Huang.
When freed hostage Avinatan Or walked into Nvidia’s U.S. headquarters on Thursday to meet CEO Jensen Huang, the encounter marked not only a personal milestone but also the culmination of what Noa Argamani, his partner and fellow survivor of the October 7 attacks, described as two years of extraordinary corporate solidarity.
In a personal post shared after the visit, Argamani wrote that Nvidia had become “much more than just a workplace; it was one big family” during the 738 days that Or was held in Gaza. Or joined the company in early 2022, she noted, and could not have known that the decision to take the job “would later prove to be one of the best he ever made in his life.”
According to Argamani, the company’s support extended far beyond formal statements. “People who had never even met him held signs with his picture every single day,” she wrote. “Every meeting began with a mention of him and a call for his return, and they even kept his desk corner untouched until the day he came back.”
The couple met Huang on Thursday at Nvidia’s U.S. headquarters in a meeting organized by Amit Krig, Senior Vice President for Networking Software and head of Nvidia Israel, and attended by members of the company’s Israeli management team. It was their first encounter with the founder-CEO since Or’s release in October, which Huang had described at the time as “one of the most emotional moments” for the company.
Huang’s internal letter announcing Or’s release spoke of the “strength, courage, and unwavering hope” of Or’s mother, Ditza, and of the unity shown by Nvidia’s Israeli employees, who stood with her “in vigil, united in determination that Avinatan would return home safely.”
Argamani’s post offered a portrait of that unity from the family’s side. She wrote that support for Or was coordinated “in full coordination and with direct support from the company’s CEO, Jensen Huang, who personally accompanied the family and called repeatedly to ask how they were doing.”
“Nvidia never forgot Avinatan,” she added, noting that he had worked at the company for only a year and a half before he was kidnapped from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Reim. “Seeing how the company stood by him the entire time shows us what true mutual responsibility really means—how even in days of success and prosperity, they stood by their employee, and fought alongside us.”
For Nvidia, Or’s release came after a period of intense strain within the Israeli workforce. In a letter to employees, Huang wrote that “thousands of NVIDIA employees have served with extraordinary bravery” during the war, and that many had faced “immense pain, loss, and uncertainty.” The company and its employees raised $15 million in 2023 to support civilians affected by the conflict, the largest humanitarian fundraising effort in its history.
Or, a 32-year-old electrical engineer and graduate of Ben-Gurion University, worked in Nvidia’s VLSI group in its networking division in Tel Aviv. His return, Huang had said, brought “profound relief and joy to the entire NVIDIA family.”
First published: 08:09, 12.12.25
