Nvidia is buying Hugging Face for almost $13 billion

THE NEWS

What happened

Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face for approximately $12.93 billion, marking a major consolidation in the open-source AI sector. The deal brings the popular platform, known as the 'GitHub' for machine learning, under the ownership of the world's largest AI chipmaker. This acquisition aims to strengthen Nvidia's infrastructure and expand access to AI tools while maintaining Hugging Face's status as an open platform where developers can choose their preferred models and cloud providers without being forced to use Nvidia hardware.

CONTEXT

Why it matters

Nvidia has officially agreed to buy Hugging Face for almost $13 billion. This acquisition brings one of the most popular platforms for open-source AI models under the ownership of the world's biggest chipmaker. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that Hugging Face will remain an open platform, and developers will not be required to use Nvidia compute to build or deploy through it. The move aims to strengthen infrastructure and expand access to AI for developers worldwide.

AT A GLANCE

Key facts

• Nvidia agreed to purchase Hugging Face for $12.93 billion.
• Hugging Face was last valued at $4.5 billion in a 2023 funding round.
• The platform serves as a central hub for sharing open-source AI models, datasets, and tools.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed Hugging Face will remain an open platform with no requirement to use Nvidia compute.
• Hugging Face generates approximately $150 million in annualized revenue.
• The acquisition follows speculation starting in late August after reports of a potential sale.
• Nvidia previously rejected a $500 million investment offer from Hugging Face last year.