Ex-Nvidia Advisor Claims $1B in Stock Over 1993 Option Dispute
Eric Gullichsen says a 1993 vesting discrepancy left 9,375 options disputed. After splits, those shares would be worth about $1.01 billion.
Eric Gullichsen, a former member of Nvidia's Technical Advisory Board, claims he is owed about $1 billion in Nvidia stock due to a vesting discrepancy dating back to 1993. According to Tom's Hardware, Gullichsen says he was granted 25,000 options in September 1993.
An April 1996 letter from Nvidia's CFO counted 15,625 vested options, leaving 9,375 shares in dispute. After 480x in stock splits, those disputed options would equal about 4.5 million shares, worth roughly $1.01 billion at Nvidia's Sept. 25 close of $225.07.
The disagreement centers on conflicting documents. The 1993 grant document states all shares vest one year from the grant date, while an invitation letter signed by Jensen Huang says the option vests over four years.
Gullichsen and his lawyers agreed the statute of limitations worked against them. Nvidia rejected a proposed smaller settlement after about a year of correspondence.
Gullichsen co-founded the VR company Sense8 around 1990 and is a named inventor on patent US5796426A.
Quick answers
How many Nvidia shares are disputed?
9,375 options are in dispute, which after 480x in stock splits would equal about 4.5 million shares.
What is the disputed stock worth?
Roughly $1.01 billion at Nvidia's Sept. 25 close of $225.07.
Why did Gullichsen not sue?
He and his lawyers agreed the statute of limitations worked against them.