Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal to buy AI platform Hugging Face

Nvidia has agreed to acquire AI platform Hugging Face in a deal valued at approximately $12.9 billion (£9.5 billion), marking one of the chipmaker’s largest purchases as it expands into software. Founded in 2016, Hugging Face has become a popular online hub where developers and researchers can discover, share and experiment with AI models and tools. The platform recently attracted attention after rogue AI agents that escaped a testing environment appeared on its service, prompting discussions about AI safety and oversight. The acquisition would bring one of the world’s largest AI developer communities under Nvidia’s umbrella and give the company control of a leading open‑source platform—an alternative to offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. Nvidia is best known for producing the high‑performance chips that power and run AI systems; demand for those semiconductors has surged as companies race to build AI products. The two firms already collaborate to help developers access Nvidia’s computing resources through the Hugging Face platform. According to both companies, Hugging Face is used by more than 18 million developers and hosts over 3 million AI models, with more than 200,000 enterprises relying on the service. Nvidia said Hugging Face will remain open to developers and that users will not be required to adopt its chips or services. Under the terms, Nvidia will pay about $11.9 billion to Hugging Face investors and provide up to $1 billion in stock‑based incentives to employees who join the company. The deal could also bolster Nvidia’s presence in AI software, especially as major customers such as Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI develop their own chips. Open‑source AI models can be downloaded and modified by users, unlike many proprietary systems controlled by a single vendor. Supporters argue the move will make the technology more accessible to businesses, researchers and developers. Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the advocacy group Consumer Choice Center, described the acquisition as “a ballot of assurance in open AI” and suggested it could foster competition by making AI tools more widely available to start‑ups and smaller firms. He added that the transaction would be a “major triumph for innovators and consumers worldwide” if Nvidia keeps Hugging Face open and accessible. The agreement would also grant Nvidia entry to one of the globe’s largest AI developer communities as competition within the ecosystem intensifies. Hugging Face was founded by French entrepreneurs Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond and Thomas Wolf and also supplies datasets, software tools and cloud services used to build AI applications. The company’s backers include investors such as Amazon, AMD and Intel.