Hugging Face approached Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang weeks before the chipmaker agreed to acquire the AI platform for $12.9 billion, Huang disclosed to CNBC. He said the deal will expand access to AI for developers and institutions worldwide.
The disclosure that Hugging Face made the first approach is the detail that shapes how this deal reads. When an acquisition target initiates contact, the strategic calculus shifts: Hugging Face saw the alignment with Nvidia as worth pursuing before any formal process began. Huang told CNBC the outreach came weeks before closing, which implies the timeline compressed quickly once initial contact was made.
Huang's stated rationale centers on access. Nvidia, as the chipmaker, gains Hugging Face as a platform serving developers and institutions. The combination, in his framing, extends who can reach AI capabilities. How the two will operate together after the $12.9 billion deal closes was not detailed in his CNBC comments.