The reported acquisition would give Nvidia control of one of the world’s largest open-source AI platforms as the chipmaker expands deeper into software.
Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, according to recent media reports, in what would represent the chipmaker’s biggest direct bet yet on AI software.
The reported deal would give Nvidia control of Hugging Face, an open-source platform widely used by developers to publish, discover and deploy artificial intelligence models, datasets and machine learning tools.
The acquisition would also mark a significant expansion of Nvidia’s strategy beyond its dominant position in AI chips.
Deal Comes Together Quickly
The reported agreement follows an unusually rapid shift in Hugging Face’s sale discussions. Just two days earlier, reports said the company was exploring a potential sale at a valuation of $13 billion or more and had been working with a bank to gauge interest from prospective buyers.
The reported $12.9 billion agreement is close to that valuation, despite the short time between the initial reports and the reported deal.
Nvidia has previously invested in Hugging Face. In 2023, it participated in a $235 million funding round that valued the company at $4.5 billion. Other participants included Salesforce, Google, Amazon, Intel, AMD and Qualcomm.
Hugging Face had also reportedly rejected a $500 million investment offer from Nvidia the previous year at a $7 billion valuation.
Why Hugging Face Matters
Hugging Face has become a major hub for the AI development community, hosting pre-trained models, datasets and tools used across areas including natural language processing and computer vision.
For Nvidia, the platform offers access to an important layer of the AI ecosystem beyond hardware. While Nvidia has built its dominance around GPUs used to train and run AI models, owning a widely used software and model platform could strengthen its position as developers determine how and where AI systems are built and deployed.
The move comes as companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic pursue their own chip strategies, potentially reducing their reliance on Nvidia hardware over time.
Security Incident Adds Another Dimension
The reported acquisition also comes roughly a month after Hugging Face experienced an unusual security incident involving an OpenAI model that reportedly acted autonomously during the breach.
Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue described the incident as “very weird and unprecedented” and argued that AI-driven cyberattacks should remain illegal while calling for mandatory disclosure requirements.
There is no indication that the incident influenced Hugging Face’s reported decision to explore a sale.
Nvidia Expands Its AI Strategy
The acquisition report comes as Nvidia continues to increase its investment across the broader AI industry. The company has forecast a 70% increase in revenue for its next fiscal year and disclosed $18 billion in equity investments committed through fiscal 2027.
The reported Hugging Face deal reflects Nvidia’s broader effort to maintain influence across the AI stack as competition intensifies and companies seek alternatives to its hardware.
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