Hugging Face CEO vows to keep fighting for open-source AI after Jensen Huang’s exit

Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue concisely commented connected Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s departure connected Thursday, calling it a “really bittersweet day.” Nvidia had announced its program to get the level for open-source AI models successful September for $12.9 billion, making it the second-largest acquisition successful the company’s history, conscionable down that of chipmaker Groq’s assets for $20 billion successful December 2025.

“This full happening sucks, and I privation nary of it had happened. It’s a truly bittersweet day! But I privation to marque 1 happening clear: we’ll support warring for open-source AI, harder than ever. This is excessively important to dilatory down now. Let’s go!,” Delangue wrote connected X.

The station is absorbing arsenic it implies that Huang’s departure is perchance worrying to open-source advocates, and he’s attempting to connection reassurance.

As Nvidia’s CEO, Huang was known arsenic a beardown advocator for open-source AI and open-weight models, which is wherefore determination could beryllium concerns astir however a institution that’s nary longer nether his enactment volition present attack this space.

After Nvidia announced its plans to get Hugging Face, the U.S. Department of Justice began making inquiries astir however the woody would interaction contention successful the AI market, Reuters reported successful October. While Nvidia pledged that the level would sphere unfastened support, it would besides let the institution to power a large organisation transmission for AI models.

The Hugging Face woody is inactive scheduled to adjacent successful the archetypal fractional of 2027. Requests for further remark connected the woody presumption and whether Hugging Face has spoken yet with Nvidia’s interim CEO Collette Kress were not returned.

Huang’s advocacy for open-source and open-weight AI has agelong extended beyond Hugging Face. In July, the CEO published an AI argumentation missive arsenic his first-ever post connected the societal web X. The letter, which was signed by 25 companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Hugging Face, IBM, Palantir, and others, urged the U.S. authorities not to over-restrict open-weight AI models. It said models that “anyone tin download, inspect, modify, and tally connected their ain infrastructure” are an important portion of the AI ecosystem due to the fact that they marque AI “more accessible, adaptable, and wide available.”

Huang besides wrote that open-weight models grow entree to the AI economy, fortify competition, and springiness customers greater control, arsenic they cognize they won’t go locked into a azygous provider. “Open models fortify information and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and alteration sovereignty,” his station connected X stated.

In August, Nvidia besides announced a $6 cardinal woody with the coding startup Poolside to assistance physique retired an unfastened AI ecosystem successful the U.S. to assistance the state vie against Chinese companies similar DeepSeek and Kimi K3, The Wall Street Journal reported astatine the time. Last month, Nvidia expanded its Nemotron household of open-weight models with a ample 120-billion-parameter exemplary for agents utilized by the endeavor arsenic good arsenic with 2 caller lightweight Bolt models that tally connected PCs.

Earlier this year, Huang promoted open-source AI during his January keynote address astatine the Consumer Electronics Show successful Las Vegas, noting that open-source models person “really revolutionized artificial intelligence.