Nvidia agrees to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion in major AI deal
- Nvidia agrees to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, one of its largest deals after Groq.
- The deal values the startup at nearly 86x its reported annualized revenue of $150 million.
- Hugging Face previously rejected a $500 million Nvidia investment at a $7 billion valuation.
- Nvidia reported Q2 revenue of $96.22 billion, up 106% year-over-year.
- The platform hosts 13 million users and is used by firms like Alibaba and DeepSeek.

*this image is generated using AI for illustrative purposes only.
Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) has reportedly agreed to acquire open-source AI model repository Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, according to a report by The Information late Wednesday.
This transaction represents one of Nvidia’s largest acquisitions to date, trailing only its $20 billion purchase of Groq. The deal secures Nvidia control over Hugging Face, a critical hub hosting open-source large language models and datasets.
Valuation and Financial Context
The $12.9 billion price tag implies a significant premium over Hugging Face’s reported annualized revenue of $150 million. This valuation marks a substantial increase from the $4.5 billion valuation assigned during the startup’s $235 million funding round in 2023. Investors in that round included Nvidia, Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM), and Alphabet Inc’s Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Deal Value | $12.9 billion |
| Hugging Face Annualized Revenue | $150 million |
| Previous Valuation (2023) | $4.5 billion |
| Nvidia’s Prior Largest Acquisition | $20 billion (Groq) |
Strategic Implications
Hugging Face serves as a key distribution channel for AI technologies, boasting 13 million users. Major entities, including China’s DeepSeek and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE: BABA), utilize the platform to distribute their AI models globally.
Earlier this year, Hugging Face rejected a proposed $500 million investment from Nvidia that would have valued the company at $7 billion. The startup cited a desire to avoid single-investor dominance in decision-making. Recent reports indicated Hugging Face was exploring a sale valued at $13 billion or more following a security breach caused by an OpenAI model.
Nvidia’s AI Expansion
This acquisition aligns with Nvidia’s aggressive expansion in the AI sector. In its Q2 financial results, Nvidia reported revenue of $96.22 billion, reflecting a 106% year-over-year increase. CEO Jensen Huang stated that the “AI infrastructure buildout is at full steam.”
Nvidia has also committed $18 billion in equity investments through fiscal year 2027. The move comes as closed-source model builders like Anthropic and OpenAI explore alternatives to Nvidia’s graphics processing units.
What the Numbers Show
The acquisition premium highlights the strategic value placed on open-source ecosystem control. The jump from a $4.5 billion valuation in 2023 to $12.9 billion now suggests rapid appreciation in the market for open-source AI infrastructure, despite modest current revenue generation of $150 million annually.
How will regulatory bodies in the US and EU evaluate the $12.9 billion acquisition given Hugging Face's role as a neutral hub for global AI model distribution?
Will major competitors like Alibaba and DeepSeek migrate their open-source models to alternative platforms to avoid Nvidia's ecosystem control?
How does this acquisition impact the competitive dynamics between Nvidia and closed-source AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic who are seeking hardware independence?

































