Episode
Why Nvidia Just Paid $12.9 Billion for Hugging Face | The Business of AI
- Podcast
- Market Maker
- Published
- Sep 7, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2879
- Processing state
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Summary
Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, paying around 86x revenue for one of the most important platforms in open-source AI. In this episode of the Market Maker Podcast, Anthony Cheung and Stephen Barnett break down what Hugging Face actually does, why Nvidia wants it, and how the deal fits into Jensen Huang’s wider strategy to control more of the AI ecosystem. We look at Hugging Face’s journey from a failed chatbot to the “GitHub of AI”, why open-source AI is becoming increasingly important, and whether Nvidia’s growing influence should concern regulators and developers. We also look at the parallels with Microsoft’s acquisition of GitHub and the extraordinary returns generated by some of Hugging Face’s earliest investors, including NBA star Kevin Durant. A deep dive into the strategy, valuation and economics behind one of the biggest AI deals of the year. (00:00) Nvidia Buys Hugging Face (08:23) Why Nvidia Moved Now (15:56) Who Made Billions? (18:59) What Is Hugging Face? (27:42) How Hugging Face Started (30:19) The $12.9bn Valuation (32:31) Nvidia’s AI Strategy (44:04) Kevin Durant’s 240x Return