Hugging Face CEO Vows to Defend Open-Source AI Following Jensen Huang's Departure

Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue addressed the departure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, describing the change in leadership as a difficult moment for the open-source community. Nvidia initially announced its intention to acquire the open-source AI platform in September for $12.9 billion, marking its second-largest acquisition following a $20 billion deal for Groq assets in December 2025. Despite the transition, Delangue stated on social media that his team remains committed to advancing open-source technology.

Huang has historically served as a prominent champion for open-weight models, penning a joint policy letter in July alongside 25 firms—including Microsoft, Meta, and IBM—urging the U.S. government to avoid restrictive policies on customizable AI systems. His broader efforts also included a $6 billion agreement with coding startup Poolside in August to bolster domestic open AI infrastructure against international competition, alongside expanding Nvidia's own Nemotron open-weight model family.

The planned acquisition by Nvidia has faced regulatory scrutiny, with the U.S. Department of Justice initiating inquiries in October regarding potential impacts on market competition. While Nvidia previously asserted that the platform would maintain open support, the transaction would grant the chipmaker control over a primary distribution channel for AI models. The deal is currently slated to finalize during the first half of 2027.