Nvidia To Acquire Hugging Face For $12.9 Billion In Major Open-Source AI Bet: Report
Nvidia has agreed to acquire open-source AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, according to a report by The Information. The deal would rank among Nvidia’s biggest acquisitions and strengthen its position across the AI ecosystem. It comes as rivals develop alternatives to Nvidia’s dominant AI chip technology
Nvidia has reportedly agreed to acquire Hugging Face, a major repository of open-source artificial intelligence models and datasets, for $12.9 billion, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
If completed, the transaction would be one of Nvidia’s largest acquisitions and represent a significant expansion of the chipmaker’s presence beyond hardware.
Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang, has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI boom through demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs).
Nvidia expands presence in open-source AI
Hugging Face provides developers with access to open-source AI models, datasets and tools, including large language models. Acquiring the platform would give Nvidia greater influence over the software and developer ecosystem surrounding AI at a time when the technology industry is becoming increasingly competitive.
The reported valuation is particularly notable given Hugging Face’s annualised revenue of around $150 million, according to The Information. Nvidia had previously invested in the company as part of a $235 million funding round in 2023, which valued Hugging Face at approximately $4.5 billion.
The chipmaker was also reportedly considering a larger investment last year. The Financial Times reported in January that Hugging Face had rejected a proposed $500 million investment from Nvidia that would have valued the company at $7 billion.
Deal comes amid intensifying AI chip competition
The potential acquisition comes as major AI developers, including OpenAI and Anthropic, explore developing their own chips to reduce dependence on Nvidia’s GPUs.
Nvidia has continued to signal confidence in long-term AI demand. The company recently projected a sharp increase in revenue for the next fiscal year and said it had committed $18 billion for equity investments through fiscal 2027.
Hugging Face, meanwhile, recently faced a security incident involving its infrastructure after an OpenAI model reportedly triggered a hack.
Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face immediately commented on the reported acquisition.
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