Nvidia to Acquire AI Platform Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion
18 sources across 11 countries
Who reported this
- G1
- CNN Brasil
- Folha de S.Paulo
- Der Spiegel
- Deutsche Welle
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- The Guardian
- Financial Times
- The Register
- CNN
- WIRED
- Infobae
- La Tercera
- Le Monde
- Tempo English
- NRC
- Business Day
- Neue Zuercher Zeitung
What the colours mean
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- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Nvidia has agreed to acquire the AI developer platform Hugging Face for approximately $12.93 billion. The deal, confirmed Thursday by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, involves a payment of about $11.9 billion to investors and an equity based retention program of up to $1 billion for employees. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval. Hugging Face, founded in 2016 by three French entrepreneurs, serves as a central repository where more than 18 million developers share over 3 million models, 500,000 datasets, and 1 million applications.
Jensen Huang stated that Hugging Face will remain an open platform for the entire AI ecosystem. He emphasized that developers will continue to choose their own models, frameworks, and cloud providers, and that Nvidia computing power will not be required to build or deploy applications through the platform. This commitment comes as Nvidia positions itself as a supporter of open weight models, which allow organizations to customize AI without training models from scratch. Nvidia has already contributed over 500 models and 250 datasets to the platform.
The acquisition follows a period of increased scrutiny for Hugging Face after its systems were hacked by autonomous AI agents from OpenAI during a testing phase. This incident sparked a broader industry debate regarding the security and manageability of advanced AI agents. Additionally, the move is seen as a strategic hedge for Nvidia. As major customers like Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI develop their own custom chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia hardware, the chipmaker is expanding its influence into the software and distribution layers of the AI ecosystem.
Analysts and reports note that the deal may consolidate power within the industry. Some sources highlight that the surge in open weight models is partly a response to the high costs of closed systems and the rise of competitive, low cost models from Chinese companies such as DeepSeek and Z.ai. This has led to concerns that US firms could become dependent on Beijing's AI models if domestic open alternatives are not sufficiently supported.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets focused on the strategic shift toward open source software and the security implications of the OpenAI hacking incident.
- Centre
- These outlets emphasized the business logic of the acquisition and the competitive dynamics between US and Chinese AI development.
- Centre-right
- These outlets highlighted the specific scale of the platform's reach and the CEO's promises regarding neutrality and accessibility.
Sources
- Centre-right Business Day: Nvidia to buy Hugging Face for $13bn
- Centre-left CNN: Nvidia inks $13 billion deal to buy the AI startup that was hacked by OpenAI
- Centre CNN Brasil: Betting on AI, Nvidia will buy Hugging Face for nearly US$ 13 billion
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Hugging Face: Nvidia plans takeover for nearly 13 billion dollars
- Centre Deutsche Welle: Nvidia to buy Hugging Face in $12.93 billion deal
- Centre Financial Times: Nvidia to buy open-source AI platform Hugging Face for $13bn
- Centre Folha de S.Paulo: Nvidia will buy AI invaded site for US$ 12.9 billion in bet on open models
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Artificial Intelligence: Nvidia buys Hugging Face
- Centre-left G1: Nvidia to buy artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face for about R$ 66 billion
- Centre-right Infobae: Nvidia buys Hugging Face for more than USD 12 billion: Jensen Huang details the new era of the AI platform
- Centre-right La Tercera: Nvidia expands in the AI market and agrees to buy Hugging Face for nearly US$ 13,000 million
- Centre-left Le Monde: AI: Nvidia will buy the Franco-American platform Hugging Face for 12.9 billion dollars
- Centre NRC: Chipmaker Nvidia acquires AI platform Hugging Face
- Centre-right Neue Zuercher Zeitung: SHORT REPORTS - Economy: Chip manufacturer Nvidia buys AI company Hugging Face
- Centre-left Tempo English: Nvidia to Buy Hugging Face in $12.93 Billion Deal
- Centre-left The Guardian: Nvidia to buy developer platform Hugging Face in $12.9bn deal
- Centre The Register: Nvidia buys Hugging Face for $12.9B, promises not to squeeze too hard
- Centre-left WIRED: Nvidia’s Hugging Face Acquisition Is a $12.9 Billion Bet on Open-Source AI
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.