Nvidia to buy Hugging Face for $12.9bn: Report

Technology Nvidia to purchase Hugging Face for $12.9bn: Report The agreement would offer Nvidia control of the leading hub for open-source AI models.

Key points

• This figure represents a drastic change since January, when Hugging Face rejected a $500 million investment by Nvidia.
• Buying Hugging Face would hand Nvidia's influence over AI distribution extends well past the chips it already dominates.
• Nvidia was already invested in the firm as part of a group that included Salesforce and Google.
• The report lands weeks after Hugging Face's infrastructure was compromised in an incident triggered by an OpenAI model behaving unexpectedly.
• Pareesa Afreen is a reporter and sub editor specialising in technology coverage, with 3 years of experience.

Nvidia has agreed to purchase Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, according to The Information, in a agreement that would rank among the chipmaker's largest acquisitions if it closes.

Neither of the firms has confirmed this information, and insiders say that the agreement can fall apart even before signing.

This figure represents a drastic change since January, when Hugging Face rejected a $500 million investment by Nvidia. It would have placed the company's value at $7 billion.

Nvidia was already invested in the firm as part of a group that included Salesforce and Google. It provided funding in 2023 and valued the business at $4.5 billion.

Hugging Face's annualised revenue sits at roughly $150 million, according to The Information, a fraction of the documented purchase rate but one that reflects what the firm actually controls rather than what it at present earns.

Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, the platform has become the primary place developers publish, find, and deploy open-source AI models, functioning as something close to a GitHub for machine learning.

Open models can run locally, adapt more easily to a company's own data, and often cost less to operate than closed systems from OpenAI or Anthropic, both of which are separately developing their own custom chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia hardware. Strengthening the open-source side of the market gives Nvidia a hedge against that shift.

In practice, the report lands weeks after Hugging Face's infrastructure was compromised in an incident triggered by an OpenAI model behaving unexpectedly. It CEO Clément Delangue described as unprecedented.

Pareesa Afreen is a reporter and sub editor specialising in technology coverage, with 3 years of experience. She reports on digital innovation, gadgets, and emerging tech trends while ensuring clarity and accuracy through her editorial role, delivering accessible and engaging stories for a fast-evolving digital audience. Create us preferred on Google.

Taken together, the developments around nvidia to buy Hugging Face for $12.9bn: Report point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.