Nvidia is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire AI development platform Hugging Face for around $13 billion, although conflicting reports leave the status of the transaction unclear. The Information reported that Nvidia had agreed to pay $12.9 billion, while Business Insider said the companies remained in talks without a signed agreement and that negotiations could still collapse.
Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face has publicly confirmed an agreement. The potential acquisition would give Nvidia ownership of one of the most widely used platforms for sharing, downloading, and running AI models and datasets.
Hugging Face Has Grown Into a Major AI Platform
Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face has become a central platform for developers working with openly available AI models. Its platform also provides computing services that allow customers to train and run models using rented infrastructure.
Hugging Face was valued at $4.5 billion when it raised $235 million in 2023. Investors in that round included Salesforce Ventures, Alphabet’s GV, IBM Ventures, and Nvidia.
The Information reported that Hugging Face is now generating around $150 million in annual revenue, up from roughly $100 million two months earlier. Delangue said last month that the company was getting close to profitability.
Nvidia previously sought to increase its investment in Hugging Face. The Financial Times reported that Hugging Face rejected a $500 million investment proposal late last year that would have valued the company at $7 billion because it did not want one investor to gain excessive influence.
Nvidia and Hugging Face Have Backed Open Models
The companies already have close ties around open AI development. Hugging Face hosts Nvidia’s models, while Nvidia has been increasing its investment in open-weight AI systems alongside its core semiconductor business.
Delangue and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang were also among the signatories of a recent industry letter calling on the U.S. government to support open-weight AI models.
A purchase could also extend Nvidia’s presence in cloud-based AI services. Hugging Face already lets developers access computing infrastructure through its platform, while Nvidia scaled back parts of its DGX Cloud operation last year.
The reported price would represent nearly three times Hugging Face’s $4.5 billion valuation from 2023. Business Insider reported that discussions were still underway as of Wednesday and no final agreement had been signed.
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