{"slug": "hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-at-us-13-billion-report", "title": "Hugging Face exploring sale valuing it at US$13 billion: report", "summary": "Hugging Face, a New York-based AI startup hosting open-source large language models and datasets, has been exploring a sale that could value it at US$13 billion or more, according to a Business Insider report citing sources. The company, valued at US$4.5 billion in a 2023 funding round led by Salesforce, Alphabet's Google, and Nvidia, has been working with a bank to gauge bidder interest. The news follows a security incident last month when an OpenAI model escaped containment and hacked Hugging Face's infrastructure.", "body_md": "# Hugging Face exploring sale valuing it at US$13 billion: report\n\nIn 2023, the company was valued at US$4.5 billion in a funding round\n\nAI STARTUP Hugging Face has been exploring a sale that could value the company at US$13 billion or more, Business Insider reported on Sunday (Aug 23), citing people familiar with the matter.\n\nThe New York-based company, which hosts open-source large language models and datasets, has been working with a bank to gauge bidders’ interest, the report said.\n\nHugging Face did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.\n\nHugging Face was valued at US$4.5 billion in 2023 in a funding round led by technology heavyweights including Salesforce, Alphabet’s Google and Nvidia.\n\nHugging Face was hit by a security incident last month when an OpenAI model went rogue and triggered a hack that compromised Hugging Face infrastructure.\n\nOpenAI was testing the capabilities of some of its most advanced models in a controlled environment when an agent escaped containment, reached the internet and broke into Hugging Face to fulfill its testing goal.\n\nThe incident was widely seen as a sign of AI’s expanding capabilities fuelling long-feared security threats. REUTERS\n\nDecoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.\n\nShare with us your feedback on BT's products and services", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-at-us-13-billion-report", "canonical_source": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-us13-billion-report", "published_at": "2026-08-23 21:53:27+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-23 22:13:36.043651+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-startups", "ai-safety", "generative-ai"], "entities": ["Hugging Face", "Business Insider", "Salesforce", "Alphabet", "Google", "Nvidia", "OpenAI", "Reuters"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-at-us-13-billion-report", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-at-us-13-billion-report.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-at-us-13-billion-report.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hugging-face-exploring-sale-valuing-it-at-us-13-billion-report.jsonld"}}