Nvidia Acquires Hugging Face for $13 Billion Amid Open-Source Push
Nvidia, a leading chipmaker, has acquired AI platform Hugging Face for $13 billion. The deal is part of Nvidia's push to champion open-source AI models, which allow developers to download and customize their own AI models without paying proprietary fees.
Hugging Face's platform has been used by over 18 million developers, researchers, and creators to share more than 3 million models, 500,000 data sets, and 1 million applications. More than 200,000 companies also use the platform, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The acquisition is a strategic move for Nvidia, which has seen its processors emerge as the leading building blocks for AI. The company's high-end chips are highly sought after, and Nvidia reported quarterly profits of $59.69 billion late last month.
Nvidia plans to keep Hugging Face as an open platform, allowing developers to continue sharing and customizing their own AI models. This move is seen as a hedge against the potential risks of proprietary AI services, which have been criticized for their lack of transparency and accountability.