Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal to buy AI platform Hugging Face
The deal gives Nvidia control of a leading open-source AI platform and developer community.
Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal to buy AI platform Hugging Face
Nvidia would gain one of the world's largest AI developer communities through the deal.
Nvidia has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face in a transaction worth about $12.9bn (£9.5bn), marking one of the AI chipmaker's largest purchases as it broadens into software.
Founded in 2016, Hugging Face has grown into a widely used online hub where developers and researchers can discover, share and test AI models and tools.
It drew attention recently after rogue AI agents that had broken out of a testing environment showed up on its platform, prompting fresh concerns about AI safety and oversight.
The agreement would add one of the world's biggest AI developer communities to Nvidia and give it control of a major open-source platform, offering an alternative to systems from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Nvidia is best known for producing the advanced chips used to train and operate AI systems. Demand for those chips has climbed sharply as companies compete to develop AI products.
The two companies already collaborate to help developers access Nvidia's computing services through the platform.
The companies said Hugging Face is used by more than 18 million developers and hosts more than three million AI models. They added that more than 200,000 companies use the platform.
Nvidia said Hugging Face would stay open to developers and that users would not have to use its chips or services.
Under the deal, Nvidia will pay about $11.9bn to Hugging Face investors and provide up to $1bn in stock-based incentives to employees who join the company.
The acquisition could also strengthen Nvidia's position in AI software as some of its biggest customers, including Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, build their own chips.
Open-source AI models can be downloaded and modified by users, unlike many AI systems controlled by a single company.
Backers say this model can make the technology more accessible to businesses, researchers and developers.
Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of advocacy group Consumer Choice Center, said the acquisition was "a vote of confidence in open AI" and said it could spur competition by making AI tools more broadly available to start ups and smaller companies.
If Nvidia keeps Hugging Face open and accessible, the deal will be a "major victory for innovators and consumers worldwide", he added.
The deal would also give Nvidia access to one of the world's largest AI developer communities as competition in the sector intensifies.
Founded by French entrepreneurs Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face also offers datasets, software tools and cloud services used to build AI applications.
Hugging Face is supported by investors including Amazon, AMD and Intel.