NVIDIA agrees to buy Hugging Face for US$12.93 billion
NVIDIA plans to acquire Hugging Face for US$12.93 billion, expanding its AI business while promising to keep the platform open.
NVIDIA is set to acquire artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face in a deal valued at US$12.93 billion, marking a major expansion of the chipmaker’s position in the software side of the AI industry. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang announced the agreement, saying the company plans to scale Hugging Face’s platform, improve its infrastructure and make AI more widely accessible.
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The proposed acquisition still requires regulatory approval. If completed, it would bring one of the leading platforms for open AI models under the control of the company that has become a dominant supplier of the hardware powering modern AI systems.
Hugging Face has become a major hub for open AI
Hugging Face has often been compared with GitHub, but it focuses on artificial intelligence rather than general software development. The platform allows developers and researchers to share, discover and test AI models and datasets, with a strong emphasis on open-source and open-weight technology.
The service became central to the AI development community as generative AI gained widespread attention in 2022. Since then, its user base and model collection have expanded rapidly. Hugging Face currently says its platform has more than 18 million users and hosts three million models, while more than 200,000 companies use models created through the platform in their businesses.
That growth has made Hugging Face an important part of the wider AI ecosystem, particularly for developers who want access to models without relying exclusively on closed systems operated by major technology companies. Its platform supports a broad range of projects, from research and experimentation to commercial applications.
For NVIDIA, the acquisition would extend its reach beyond the processors and data centre systems that have driven much of its recent growth. The company would gain direct control over a platform used by millions of AI developers, potentially giving it a stronger role in how models are developed, shared and deployed.
NVIDIA promises to keep the platform open
Huang has sought to address concerns that NVIDIA’s ownership could affect Hugging Face’s position as an open platform. He said Hugging Face would “remain an open platform for the entire AI ecosystem” and that developers would not be required to use NVIDIA products when working with the service.
The NVIDIA chief executive also pointed to the company’s existing involvement with Hugging Face as evidence of its support for the platform and the wider open AI community. NVIDIA has contributed more than 500 models and 250 open datasets to Hugging Face, according to Huang.
NVIDIA was already an investor in Hugging Face before announcing the acquisition. The chipmaker took part in at least one funding round for the startup in 2023, alongside a group of major technology companies. Google, Amazon, Salesforce, AMD, Intel, IBM and Qualcomm have also invested in the company.
Huang has also expressed support for open-source AI models, including in a recent letter on the importance of open AI development. The acquisition therefore comes as NVIDIA positions itself as a supporter of a model-sharing ecosystem while also seeking to expand its commercial influence across the AI technology stack.
The distinction between open-source, open-weight and proprietary AI is becoming increasingly important as companies compete over the future of model development. While firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google continue to develop powerful proprietary systems, open models are gaining attention among researchers, developers and businesses looking for greater control over their AI technology.
Deal highlights growing importance of open models
The acquisition also reflects a wider debate about how the AI industry will develop as models become more capable. Some analysts expect open-source and open-weight systems to become increasingly important alongside proprietary frontier models, creating a market in which developers can choose approaches based on their needs.
Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue has previously highlighted the importance of open models in the global AI competition. Earlier this month, he said China was winning the AI race because of its willingness to embrace open models, highlighting the strategic importance of making AI technology broadly available to developers.
For NVIDIA, Hugging Face offers a way to strengthen its influence in an area that sits directly above the hardware layer. NVIDIA’s graphics processors and specialised AI accelerators have become essential infrastructure for training and running many advanced AI systems. Still, developers also need software, models and tools to turn that computing power into usable applications.
The acquisition could therefore give NVIDIA a broader presence across the AI development process, from the infrastructure used to train models to the online platform where developers discover and experiment with them. At the same time, maintaining Hugging Face’s independence from NVIDIA hardware will be important if the platform is to retain the trust of its existing community.
The US$12.93 billion valuation makes the transaction one of the most significant acquisitions in the rapidly developing AI sector. Its eventual impact will depend not only on regulatory approval but also on whether NVIDIA can expand Hugging Face while preserving the openness and broad hardware support that helped establish the platform in the first place.