Artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face has reportedly received approaches from potential buyers that could value the company at $13 billion or more.

The report has generated fresh interest in the future of the AI company, which has become one of the most important platforms for researchers and developers working with open source artificial intelligence models.

Hugging Face provides a large online community where developers and researchers can discover, share, test and deploy AI models and related tools.

According to reports, the company has not agreed to a transaction and the identity of the potential buyers remains unclear.

The startup is also said to have engaged financial institutions to assess interest and evaluate possible offers.

The reported discussions come at a time when investors and major technology companies are increasingly targeting businesses that provide essential infrastructure for artificial intelligence.

Hugging Face previously raised funding in 2023 at a valuation of about $4.5 billion, with participation from investors including Salesforce Ventures, Alphabet, GV and IBM Ventures.

Chief Executive Clem Delangue has indicated that the company is approaching profitability and has been focusing on building a sustainable long term business rather than repeatedly seeking new funding.

He has also stressed the company’s responsibility to the developers and organisations that rely on its platform to store and share AI models and data.

Earlier this year, Hugging Face reportedly declined a $500 million investment from Nvidia that would have valued the company at approximately $7 billion.

The decision was linked to concerns about allowing a single major investor to have too much influence over the company.

The latest acquisition reports therefore leave open the question of whether Hugging Face is actively seeking a buyer or simply evaluating offers as interest in AI infrastructure continues to rise.

Source:Techcrunch