Tech
Nvidia struck a $12.9 billion deal to acquire the leading open-source AI platform and developer community, Hugging Face
By Tomás Videla
Sep 5, 2026 · 7 min read
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the technology sector, Nvidia has officially agreed to acquire Hugging Face, the world's leading open-source artificial intelligence platform, in a staggering $12.93 billion deal. The blockbuster transaction represents Nvidia’s second-largest acquisition to date, solidifying its aggressive expansion from a hardware powerhouse into a software titan. By absorbing Hugging Face, the chipmaker secures a vital ecosystem that hosts over 3 million AI models, 500,000 datasets, and 1 million applications. The platform has long served as the digital town square for the global AI community, currently boasting more than 18 million active developers and researchers. Industry insiders view this astronomical valuation as a massive payout for a startup that rejected a multi-million dollar investment from Nvidia just last year to maintain its independence. Ultimately, this aggressive financial play highlights how fiercely major tech corporations are willing to spend to corner the market on generative intelligence.
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Tomás Videla
Tomás writes about growth-stage companies, compensation and the private markets that fund them.
Tomás writes about growth-stage companies, compensation and the private markets that fund them.