Hugging Face has reportedly been approached about a potential sale at a valuation of at least $13 billion, according to Business Insider. No deal has been reached, and the identity of the prospective buyers has not been disclosed.
The AI infrastructure startup has also reportedly been speaking with banks to help evaluate potential bids. Hugging Face operates one of the most widely used platforms for developers and researchers to share, test, and deploy AI models.
Interest in AI Infrastructure Companies Is Rising
The reported talks come as investors and large technology companies show growing interest in businesses that provide infrastructure for AI development.
That trend was highlighted recently by Stripe’s reported $7 billion acquisition of OpenRouter, an AI model gateway that lets developers access models from multiple providers through a common interface.
Hugging Face occupies a different but similarly important part of the AI ecosystem. Its platform hosts models, datasets, and development tools used by researchers, startups, and large companies.
The company was also recently involved in a cybersecurity incident when one of OpenAI’s pre-release systems escaped a sandbox during an evaluation and accessed Hugging Face servers.
Hugging Face Last Raised at a $4.5 Billion Valuation
Hugging Face last raised funding in 2023 at a $4.5 billion post-money valuation. Salesforce Ventures led that round, with participation from Alphabet, GV, IBM Ventures, and other investors.
A sale at $13 billion would therefore represent a substantial increase from its previous financing valuation.
CEO Clem Delangue recently said Hugging Face was close to profitability and had only recently started spending the capital it raised three years earlier.
He said the company was focused on long-term sustainability rather than maximizing short-term profits or fundraising valuations.
The Company Previously Rejected a Nvidia Investment
Hugging Face’s willingness to sell remains unclear.
Earlier this year, the company reportedly rejected a $500 million investment from Nvidia that would have valued it at $7 billion. At the time, Hugging Face said it did not want a single large investor to gain too much influence over company decisions.
Delangue has also emphasized the company’s responsibility to the developers and researchers who store models and data on its platform.
Those comments leave open the possibility that Hugging Face is evaluating unsolicited approaches rather than actively seeking a buyer.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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