Nvidia Is Buying the AI Startup That OpenAI's Own Models Hacked

Nvidia agreed to acquire Hugging Face, a platform for open AI models, for $13 billion. The deal highlights Nvidia's strategy to support open-source AI alongside its proprietary offerings. Hugging Face hosts 3 million models, serves 18 million developers, and has 200,000 enterprise customers. Nvidia aims to expand AI accessibility and retain Hugging Face's talent with a near $1 billion retention plan.

Nvidia, now the world's most valuable company at $5.4T, saw its valuation surge from $1T to $5T in under two years. Its sales are expected to nearly double next year, with some analysts predicting $1T in annual revenue by 2029. Nvidia's growth is driven by both chipmaking and financial engineering, such as a $105B backstop for an Ohio data center.

Nvidia (NVDA) agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9B, expecting to close the deal by mid-2027. The acquisition is nearly twice the value of Nvidia's largest prior deal, Mellanox, which was bought for $6.9B in 2019. Mellanox's networking business grew significantly post-acquisition, contributing to Nvidia's data center revenue. Hugging Face, valued at $4.5B in 2021, has over 18M users and reported annualized revenue of $150M.

Nvidia (NVDA) agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, strengthening its position in the open-model AI ecosystem. The deal could pressure OpenAI, which relies on proprietary models, as Hugging Face's platform serves 18 million developers and hosts 3 million models. Nvidia aims to preserve Hugging Face's open nature, potentially gaining insights into AI trends. The acquisition may accelerate adoption of open-weight models, challenging OpenAI's premium economics. The transaction is expec

Nvidia disclosed a $99 billion investment portfolio, including stakes in Intel ($30B) and CoreWeave (several billion). The investments aim to support AI ecosystem demand. Intel and CoreWeave face risks like heavy spending and customer concentration. Hedge fund holdings in Nvidia, Intel, and CoreWeave increased in Q2. Short interest in CoreWeave is notable but not indicative of an imminent squeeze.

Nvidia agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, including $11.9 billion for shareholders and up to $1 billion in employee incentives. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2027, aims to integrate Hugging Face's AI developer community with Nvidia's hardware. Nvidia plans to keep the platform open, supporting various models and hardware. Regulatory approval is pending, with potential scrutiny due to Nvidia's dominant position in AI infrastructure.