Hugging Face is too important to fall into Nvidia's hands

Nvidia announced plans to acquire open source AI evangelist Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, a deal expected to close next year barring regulatory intervention. The acquisition is seen as problematic, as Nvidia buying Hugging Face is akin to an automaker acquiring the primary means of fuel distribution or the means by which mechanics are trained.

Hugging Face has become the cornerstone of the AI ecosystem, serving as the primary platform for researchers, enthusiasts, and software developers to collaborate on open source AI models. Its commitment to open source AI has made it a neutral ground for collaboration, with most open weights models dropping on the platform. While Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue believes the acquisition will grow the company's user base, the deal could pose significant challenges to competitors.

By controlling Hugging Face, Nvidia could prioritize its own hardware and software products, potentially disadvantaging competitors.