What would Jensen Huang’s Nvidia exit mean for open-source AI? Hugging Face CEO responds

Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue says he’ll keep fighting for open-source AI after Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia, as the $12.9 billion deal faces questions.

Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue has pledged to keep supporting open-source artificial intelligence (AI) after Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia’s CEO. The news raises questions over Nvidia’s planned $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face and the future of its open-source AI push.

Delangue called Huang’s exit a “really sad day” in a post on X on November 12. He said Hugging Face would not slow down its work to make AI models accessible, regardless of leadership changes at Nvidia. “We’ll keep fighting for open-source AI, harder than ever. This is too important to slow down now,” he wrote.

Huang has been strongly advocating for open source and open-weight AI models. This transition has therefore raised concerns among developers and industry watchers about whether Nvidia will continue to pursue a similar strategy under its new leader.

Nvidia’s $12.9 billion Hugging Face acquisition faces scrutiny

In September 2026, Nvidia revealed its intention to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, according to TechCrunch's September 3 report. The transaction would be one of Nvidia's biggest acquisitions ever.

According to a Reuters report in October 2026, the US Department of Justice had opened an investigation into the deal regarding competition issues in the field of AI.

Earlier, Nvidia announced that it will continue its support for open AI development with Hugging Face. The deal would also give the chipmaker control over one of the largest platforms for developers to find, share and distribute AI models.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027. Hugging Face did not provide any additional details on the status of the deal or its talks with Nvidia's interim CEO, Colette Kress.

Pragya Singha Roy