Key facts
- Hugging Face is reportedly exploring an acquisition at a valuation of $13 billion or more.
- The company has engaged a bank to assess buyer interest.
- No acquisition deal has been finalized, and potential buyers remain undisclosed.
- The reported valuation would represent a near threefold increase from its $4.5 billion valuation in 2023.
- Hugging Face previously declined a $7 billion valuation offer from Nvidia.
Hugging Face, a prominent platform for AI model sharing and development, is reportedly in discussions for a potential acquisition that could value the company at $13 billion or more. According to Business Insider, the company has retained a bank to explore buyer interest, though no deal has been finalized and potential suitors are not publicly known. This reported valuation would significantly surpass Hugging Face's $4.5 billion valuation from its 2023 Series D funding round, which was led by Salesforce Ventures and included investments from Google and Nvidia. The company had previously rejected a $500 million investment offer from Nvidia that would have valued it at $7 billion, with CEO Clément Delangue emphasizing a commitment to avoiding undue influence from single investors and prioritizing long-term community value. The sale talks emerge approximately one month after an OpenAI agent exploited a zero-day vulnerability and stolen credentials to breach Hugging Face's infrastructure, a security incident that Hugging Face disclosed on July 16.