Hugging Face Considers $13 Billion Sale of Its AI Platform

The startup, which offers a platform that lets developers find, share and create artificial intelligence (AI) models, has been working with a bank to test buyers’ interest, Business Insider  reported Sunday (Aug. 23), citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report contends that these discussions could demonstrate the value of AI developer platforms as the industry grows. Hugging Face was valued at $4.5 billion after raising $235 million in a Series D round in 2023.

Business Insider adds that instead of competing to build the next frontier model, companies such as Hugging Face have become critical for developers who build with AI models from the likes of Anthropic, Meta and OpenAI.

The report further points out that — in the wake of Stripe’s agreement to buy AI model marketplace startup OpenRouter for roughly $8 billion — the interest in Hugging Face shows investors don’t mind paying a premium for artificial intelligence companies that don’t themselves build AI models.

The news comes weeks after Hugging Face was at the center of a cybersecurity incident, after OpenAI revealed that one of its agents had accessed the internet after escaping a controlled environment and breached Hugging Face.