Hugging Face explores sale that could fetch at least $13 billion

Hugging Face, a platform for discovering, sharing and building AI models, is reportedly fielding acquisition interest that could value the company at $13 billion or more. The firm has retained a financial adviser to gauge bidder enthusiasm, but no deal has been finalized. Previously valued at $4.5 billion in 2023, its backers include Lux Capital, Addition and Salesforce Ventures.

The interest mirrors recent high-profile AI deals, such as Stripe’s purchase of OpenRouter for around $8 billion, underscoring investors’ appetite for core AI ecosystem players rather than model creators. The company also recently dealt with a security incident involving an OpenAI test agent that accessed its services. These developments illustrate the expanding market for AI developer platforms as the industry matures.