Nvidia confirms biggest AI sector acquisition as chipmaker bets on open-weight platform to expand developer access.
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Nvidia has confirmed its acquisition of AI startup Hugging Face for $13 billion, marking the largest deal in the artificial intelligence startup sector. The chipmaker's CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC that Hugging Face approached Nvidia weeks before the announcement, with Huang stating the deal will "expand access to AI for developers and institutions worldwide."
Hugging Face operates as an open-weight AI platform, allowing developers to access, modify, and deploy machine learning models. The startup has become a central hub in the AI development community, particularly for open-source model sharing and collaboration.
Multiple sources, including CNN and ABC7 New York, note that Hugging Face was previously the subject of a security incident involving OpenAI models. The reference to being "hacked by OpenAI models" appears in several outlet reports about the acquisition, though details of that incident were not elaborated in the source materials.
The acquisition represents Nvidia's largest move in the AI startup space and signals the chipmaker's strategy to control more of the AI development ecosystem. Industry analysts will watch whether this deal faces regulatory scrutiny given Nvidia's dominant position in the AI chip market.
Sources: 1. CNBC: Hugging Face approached Nvidia’s Huang weeks ahead of $12.9B acquisition, CEO tells CNBC — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/03/nvidia-agrees-to-buy-hugging-face-for-almost-13-billion-ai-expansion.html (src1) 2.