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Nvidia has reportedly agreed to spend $13 billion to acquire Hugging Face, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Parmy Olson reported. The platform hosts open-weight AI models and is one of the largest repositories used by developers.
The reported deal came as Nvidia announced quarterly revenue had doubled and its shares rose 7%. If completed, the acquisition would give Nvidia a stronger position where developers download and deploy AI models.
Hugging Face was founded by three French entrepreneurs and operates hubs in Paris and New York. The company has promoted open AI development and has argued against centralized control of the industry.
Hugging Face previously rejected a $500 million Nvidia investment that would have valued the company at $7 billion. Co-Chief Executive Officer Clem Delangue said in 2024 that concentration of power was the biggest risk in AI.
The platform recently generated about $150 million in annual revenue, making the reported purchase price roughly 86 times annualized revenue. Nvidia, meanwhile, expects chip sales to grow 70% in the next fiscal year and has gross margins of about 75%.
The acquisition could also create a strategic counterweight to closed-source developers such as OpenAI and Google. But it may put Hugging Face’s neutrality under scrutiny because developers can use the platform with chips from Nvidia and its competitors.
Nvidia controls an estimated 70% to 90% of AI chip sales, according to the column. The reported transaction would therefore give the chipmaker greater influence over an ecosystem that has emphasized decentralization.
The column noted that Hugging Face was also reportedly being considered by other potential acquirers, including Salesforce. Bloomberg said the views expressed were those of the author and did not necessarily reflect Bloomberg’s editorial board or Bloomberg LP.
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