Nvidia has reportedly agreed to acquire AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, in what would rank among the chipmaker’s largest acquisitions to date. The Information reported the deal on August 26, citing a person familiar with the agreement.
Hugging Face is widely known for its open-source AI ecosystem, hosting large language models, datasets and development tools used by researchers and developers around the world. The acquisition would give Nvidia greater influence over the open-source AI model ecosystem as competition intensifies between companies developing proprietary AI models and those promoting open alternatives.
The reported deal also highlights Nvidia’s broader strategy of expanding beyond its core AI-chip business. Nvidia has invested heavily across the AI industry, including backing Hugging Face in a $235 million funding round in 2023, when the startup was valued at approximately $4.5 billion.
The reported $12.9 billion price represents a substantial premium. Hugging Face was recently generating about $150 million in annualized revenue, according to The Information. Nvidia’s willingness to pay such a valuation reflects its belief that open-source AI will remain strategically important to the industry.
The transaction comes as Nvidia faces growing efforts from major AI developers, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to develop alternatives to Nvidia’s dominant AI hardware ecosystem. Control of Hugging Face could therefore strengthen Nvidia’s position across both AI infrastructure and the software/model layer.
The companies had not immediately provided confirmation to Reuters when the report emerged, so the reported agreement should be treated as reported rather than officially confirmed until Nvidia or Hugging Face announces the transaction.
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