Nvidia agrees $12.93 billion purchase of Hugging Face to expand open AI platform
Nvidia has agreed to buy developer platform Hugging Face for US$12.93 billion, a move aimed at securing the open-source artificial intelligence ecosystem ahead of anticipated IPOs and increased cyber security threats.
Nvidia announced on Thursday it would acquire artificial intelligence software platform Hugging Face in a transaction valued at US$12.93 billion. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2027 pending regulatory approvals, represents one of Nvidia's largest corporate agreements. CEO Jensen Huang stated the acquisition includes approximately US$11.9 billion payable to shareholders and an equity-based retention program of up to US$1 billion for staff. Hugging Face hosts over three million models and serves more than 18 million users globally, including around 200,000 companies developing AI systems. Huang emphasized the platform will remain open and support competing computing architectures. Nvidia aims to leverage this move to access developer data while countering reliance on Chinese firms whose models are gaining market share. In related developments, OpenAI committed US$1 billion to a cyber defense initiative called 'Daybreak for Frontline Defenders' following concerns over AI-enabled security breaches.
