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Hugging Face explores sale at a valuation of $13 billion or more as AI infrastructure becomes a key industry asset.

Hugging Face is currently exploring a sale that could value the company at $13 billion or more. The startup, which serves as a primary repository for AI models, has engaged a bank to evaluate potential bidders, though no official deal has been reached yet. This move follows a period of where the company was last valued at $4.5 billion in 2023. Founded by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, the platform allows developers to share, test, and deploy models. While the company is not building frontier models itself, it has become an essential infrastructure hub for developers using models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. The potential sale highlights a market trend where investors are willing to pay premium prices for core AI distribution assets. Clément Delangue noted that the company is close to profitability and aims to prioritize long-term sustainability for its community of AI builders over short-term gains.

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