Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face, an open-source AI platform, for $12.9 billion, according to a report by The Information, which cited a person familiar with the deal [1]. The acquisition talks reportedly began after Hugging Face received interest from another suitor, and the company has been working with a bank to evaluate bidders' interest, as reported by Business Insider [1]. CNBC was unable to independently verify the report, and neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face responded to requests for comment [1].
If completed, this acquisition would bring one of the most widely used platforms for sharing and collaborating on open-source AI models under Nvidia's ownership, further expanding the chipmaker's reach into the software and model ecosystem [1]. Nvidia's recent blockbuster earnings prompted its shares to rise 4% in after-hours trading, and the company has made several deals in the past year, including a $20 billion licensing agreement with AI chip startup Groq [1].
Siddy Jobe, a fund manager at Eonopolis Exponential Technologies funds, commented that Nvidia's move to acquire Hugging Face aligns with its strategy of not discriminating between closed and open-source models. Jobe stated, "I think Nvidia is very much a community, a platform-based company, and in that respect, I think Hugging Face fits perfectly within that. There is this five-layer cake from Nvidia, and foundational models are one of them" [1]. He further emphasized Nvidia's intention to be integrated across the entire stack, from energy to foundational models and applications [1].
Hugging Face recently experienced a hacking incident, raising concerns about the rapid evolution of AI and cybersecurity tools. CEO Clément Delangue attributed the attack to engineering mistakes and noted that his company used an Nvidia version of a Chinese open model to resolve the issue [1]. Delangue also remarked, "AI cybersecurity is going to become a huge market in the U.S. and in the world," and predicted that "probably open models will be kings" in this market [1].
CONCLUSION
Nvidia's reported $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face marks a significant expansion into the open-source AI ecosystem, reinforcing its commitment to both closed and open-source models. The deal, if finalized, is expected to strengthen Nvidia's vertical integration and influence in AI software and foundational models. Market sentiment appears positive, as evidenced by Nvidia's share price increase following its earnings report.