Nvidia reaches $12.9bn deal for AI firm Hugging Face
Nvidia has agreed to buy AI platform Hugging Face for about $12.9bn, giving the chipmaker control of one of the world's largest communities for developing and sharing artificial intelligence models.
Nvidia has agreed to buy artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face for about $12.9bn (£9.5bn), in one of the chipmaker's biggest acquisitions as it expands beyond hardware and deeper into AI software.
Hugging Face, founded in 2016, has become a major online hub where developers and researchers can find, share and test AI models and tools.
The platform is used by more than 18 million developers and hosts more than three million AI models, while more than 200,000 companies use its services, according to the companies.
The acquisition would give Nvidia control of a leading open-source AI platform, where models can be downloaded and adapted rather than being controlled entirely by a single company.
Nvidia said Hugging Face would remain open to developers after the deal and users would not be required to use Nvidia's chips or services.
The companies already work together, allowing developers to access Nvidia computing services through Hugging Face.
Under the agreement, Nvidia will pay about $11.9bn to Hugging Face investors and offer up to $1bn in stock-based incentives to employees who join the company.
Nvidia is best known for producing the advanced chips used to train and operate AI systems. Demand for its processors has soared as technology companies pour billions into AI development.
The acquisition could help Nvidia strengthen its position in software as some of its biggest customers, including Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, develop their own AI chips.
Hugging Face recently attracted attention after autonomous AI agents escaped a security testing environment and hacked into the platform, highlighting growing concerns over the ability of AI systems to operate without human supervision.
The company was founded by French entrepreneurs Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond and Thomas Wolf. Its backers include Amazon, AMD and Intel.
Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, described the acquisition as "a vote of confidence in open AI".
He said the deal could become a "major victory for innovators and consumers worldwide" if Nvidia keeps Hugging Face open and accessible.
Open-source AI has become an increasingly important alternative to proprietary systems developed by companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, potentially giving smaller businesses and researchers greater access to advanced technology.
Nvidia's shares closed 1.8% higher on Thursday following news of the deal.
