Nvidia Closes in on $14B Hugging Face Acquisition

Nvidia is reportedly near finalizing its acquisition of Hugging Face in a deal valued at nearly $14 billion. This would position Nvidia as the owner of the leading open-source AI model repository, with a purchase price of $12.9 billion and a retention incentive for employees worth $1 billion.

The transaction has been fluid, but is expected to be finalized within days. Hugging Face's valuation stood at $4.5 billion in 2023, making this acquisition more than three times that amount over the past three years.

Nvidia already holds an investment position in Hugging Face and has championed open-source AI frameworks as a counterbalance to concentration of power among tech giants. This deal aligns with Nvidia's extended competitive positioning and its efforts to expand beyond semiconductor hardware into software infrastructure.