Nvidia wants Hugging Face. The companies are in advanced negotiations over a deal valued at approximately $12.9 billion, though no agreement has been reached. That price would make Hugging Face one of the most expensive acquisitions in the AI software market—assuming the paperwork survives contact with reality.
The discussions could value Hugging Face at more than $13 billion. Hugging Face has also been approached to sell at a valuation of $13 billion or more, and the company has been working with a bank to evaluate bidders’ interest.
Those figures mark a steep climb from Hugging Face’s last confirmed valuation of $4.5 billion in 2023. The company raised $235 million that year in a funding round tied to that valuation, giving investors a clear benchmark before the latest negotiations pushed the number higher.
A fast climb from model sharing to strategic asset
Hugging Face was founded in 2016 by Clment Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf. Its platform helps developers discover, share, and build AI models, giving the company a central role in the open development and distribution of machine learning tools.
That role explains why the proposed price extends beyond current revenue. Hugging Face generates about $150 million a year, up from roughly $100 million two months earlier, according to the figures tied to the negotiations. The growth is substantial, but the valuation rests on the platform’s position in AI model development as much as on its present sales.
Nvidia had already tried to deepen its relationship with Hugging Face. Late last year, Hugging Face turned down a $500 million investment offer from Nvidia that would have valued the company at $7 billion—less than the valuation now attached to the possible acquisition.
The rejected investment now looks like an early bid for access to a company whose importance has expanded with the AI market. Nvidia supplies the computing hardware behind much of that market; Hugging Face provides a place where developers can find, share, and build the models that use it. One owns the engine room. The other helps stock the ship.
The deal remains unfinished
Despite the reported agreement on a $12.9 billion purchase, the transaction is not complete. No deal has yet been reached, and the valuation could move above $13 billion as Hugging Face evaluates bidder interest.
Hugging Face’s recent history also shows why the company may have resisted an earlier investment rather than accept the first large check on offer. Its valuation rose from $4.5 billion in 2023 to a proposed figure near or above $13 billion, while annual revenue reached about $150 million. The gap between those numbers reflects the premium attached to strategic control of an AI developer platform.
Clment Delangue has described Hugging Face’s position in terms of its relationship with developers and the wider AI community. “We’re more in a unique position where we can keep creating value for the community and for AI builders,” he said.
Delangue also said Hugging Face used an Nvidia-modified version of a Chinese open-source model to defend itself after a cyberattack. That detail points to an existing technical relationship between the companies, even before any acquisition closes.
For Nvidia, buying Hugging Face would extend its reach from the hardware powering AI workloads into the software ecosystem where developers select and build models. For Hugging Face, the proposed deal would turn a platform founded in 2016 into a $12.9 billion acquisition target—or a company valued above $13 billion if negotiations move higher.
For now, the headline number is still provisional. The parties have advanced talks, but the final product remains what technology deals produce best: a very expensive possibility.
Based on
- Nvidia closes in on Hugging Face acquisition — techcrunch.com
- Hugging Face reportedly in talks to be acquired for $13B | TechCrunch — techcrunch.com
- Hugging Face Could Be Acquired for $13 Billion Amid AI Boom – Business Insider — businessinsider.com
- Hugging Face has been fielding M&A interest for a deal worth at least $13 billion | Business Insider Africa — africa.businessinsider.com
