Nvidia is Reportedly Acquiring Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion

Nvidia has reportedly agreed to acquire Hugging Face, the widely popular open-source AI platform, in a massive $12.9 billion deal, according to an exclusive report by The Information.

The agreement gives the world’s leading chip maker direct ownership of the platform where millions of developers build, share, and host open-weight artificial intelligence models.

While neither company has officially confirmed the agreement on the record, reporting across multiple news outlets indicates that Nvidia is paying nearly triple Hugging Face’s 2023 valuation of $4.5 billion. The massive price tag shows a rapid escalation in value for the startup, which reportedly turned down a $500 million investment offer from Nvidia at a $7 billion valuation late last year.

Hugging Face, often referred to as the GitHub of artificial intelligence, hosts over 2.5 million AI models and nearly 1 million datasets for more than 13 million registered users. By purchasing the platform, Nvidia moves far beyond selling graphics processing units and data center hardware.

Financial analysts note that the $12.9 billion valuation represents a steep multiple compared to Hugging Face’s estimated $150 million in annualised revenue. However, industry observers stress that the purchase price is less about immediate balance sheet earnings and more about developer loyalty. Siddy Jobe, a technology fund manager at Eonopolis Exponential Technologies, noted that Nvidia clearly intends to integrate vertically across the entire technology stack.

If the deal closes, rival hardware vendors and competing model builders may question whether the platform will continue treating non-Nvidia hardware and software frameworks equally.