Nvidia Puts Billions Behind Open-Source AI Push with Hugging Face Acquisition

Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face, an artificial intelligence startup, for $12.9 billion in cash and stock. The deal is a significant bet by the chipmaker to expand its presence in the open-source AI market.

Hugging Face hosts and provides access to open-source AI models and data sets, which has been at the center of an industry debate over whether access to advanced AI technology should be available openly or restricted for misuse. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has spoken in support of open models, arguing they can improve safety and speed up innovation.

The acquisition will allow Nvidia to expand access to Hugging Face's models to more developers and companies worldwide. Already, the platform boasts over 18 million developers and researchers using more than 3 million models, as well as 200,000 enterprise customers. Nvidia has released over 500 open models on Hugging Face prior to the deal.

Huang reiterated Nvidia's plan to keep the platform open, saying 'To the millions of builders on Hugging Face: thank you for pushing the boundaries of what is possible.' The acquisition will close in the first half of next year, according to a securities filing.