Nvidia Scores Big with $12.9 Billion Acquisition of Hugging Face

Nvidia has announced its acquisition of Hugging Face for $12.9 billion in a move that could have significant implications for the development and democratization of artificial intelligence.

Hugging Face, founded by three French entrepreneurs in New York, is a leading hub for open-source AI, hosting over three million models and 500,000 datasets used by 18 million developers worldwide.

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang has emphasized the importance of open models in generative AI development, and this acquisition aligns with Nvidia's strategy to support a broad ecosystem of model developers beyond industry giants.

The deal requires approval from competition authorities, but Nvidia remains confident it will complete the acquisition in the first half of 2027, making it the largest in its history excluding a $20 billion disguised acquisition earlier this year.