Kevin Durant's early Hugging Face stake turns $250K into $60M payoff
Kevin Durant's seed and Series A investments in Hugging Face reportedly yielded over $60 million after Nvidia's acquisition.
NBA forward Kevin Durant, together with longtime business associate Rich Kleiman, invested $100,000 in Hugging Face's seed financing and $150,000 in its Series A round through their venture firm 35 V. Nvidia later bought the artificial-intelligence startup for $12.9 billion, a deal that. This windfall eclipses the salary he will earn playing the 2026-27 NBA season, reinforcing his status as one of the sport’s most successful investors.
Observers and fans highlighted the transaction as evidence of Durant’s appeal to franchises seeking Silicon Valley connections. The episode illustrates how professional athletes are leveraging venture capital to diversify income beyond the court. Anticipation builds for Durant and Kleiman’s next investment moves ahead of the upcoming season.
Why it matters
It shows how elite athletes can earn far more from tech investments than from their sports contracts.
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