Nvidia to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion in AI platform expansion
Deal includes $1 billion employee retention package; transaction expected to close in 2027
Quick Look
- Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, extending its reach into AI software and developer tools.
- The deal includes $11.9 billion for investors and up to $1 billion in equity-based retention for employees who join Nvidia.
- Hugging Face will remain an open platform supporting models from other developers and multiple cloud providers, with no requirement to use Nvidia hardware.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Nvidia and Hugging Face have previously collaborated on AI infrastructure and development tools. Hugging Face serves over 18 million developers and hosts more than 3 million AI models. The acquisition follows a security breach disclosed by Hugging Face a month prior involving an autonomous AI agent accessing internal datasets.
Update (Sept. 3, 1:30 PM UTC): This article was updated to clarify details of the acquisition.
Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, extending its reach into the software and tools developers use to build artificial intelligence.
The chipmaker agreed to acquire Hugging Face, which serves more than 18 million developers and hosts over 3 million models, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a Thursday announcement.
“Hugging Face will remain an open platform for the entire AI ecosystem,” Huang said, adding that developers will remain free to choose their models, frameworks, cloud providers and computing platforms.
The deal gives Nvidia control of a major platform for AI models as technology companies increasingly compete across chips, software and developer tools.
Hugging Face won’t require Nvidia hardware
Nvidia hardware will not be required to build or deploy through Hugging Face, Huang said. While Nvidia already publishes more than 500 models and 250 open datasets on the platform, Hugging Face will continue supporting models from other developers as well as multiple cloud and accelerator providers.
The companies have also worked together on AI infrastructure and development tools, giving Nvidia an established relationship with Hugging Face before the acquisition.
Huang said Nvidia’s infrastructure, engineering and global reach could help improve Hugging Face’s reliability, safety, model evaluation, inference and deployment capabilities.
Nvidia sets aside $1 billion for Hugging Face employees
Nvidia will pay about $11.9 billion to Hugging Face investors and offer up to $1 billion through an equity-based retention program for employees who join Nvidia, Reuters reported Thursday.
The transaction is expected to close in 2027, the Financial Times reported. Nvidia’s announcement did not specify the regulatory approvals required for the acquisition or provide a more precise closing date.
Related: Hyperscale Data ends Michigan BTC mining as holdings fall 79%
Cointelegraph approached Nvidia for comment on the reported employee retention package, expected closing timeline and regulatory approvals but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The acquisition comes about a month after Hugging Face disclosed a security breach involving an autonomous AI agent that gained unauthorized access to internal datasets and service credentials. The company said it found no evidence of tampering with public models, datasets or applications.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The acquisition will receive regulatory approval and close in 2027 as reported by the Financial Times.
Likely · Within years
Hugging Face will maintain support for models from multiple developers and cloud providers post-acquisition.
Very likely · Within years
Open Questions
- What specific regulatory approvals are required for the acquisition?
- How will Nvidia integrate Hugging Face's operations without compromising its open-platform ethos?
- What metrics will determine the success of the employee retention program?
