Hugging Face CEO pledges open-source AI fight after Jensen Huang's exit
Original: Hugging Face CEO vows to keep fighting for open-source AI after Jensen Huang’s exit
Why This Matters
Nvidia controlling Hugging Face raises real questions about open-source AI's future.
Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue responded to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's departure on Nov. 12, 2026, calling it 'a really sad day' and vowing to keep fighting for open-source AI amid Nvidia's pending $12.9B acquisition.
Nvidia announced plans in September 2026 to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion — the company's second-largest acquisition ever, behind its $20 billion purchase of Groq's assets in December 2025. With Jensen Huang now gone, Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue took to X to address open-source advocates directly. 'This whole thing sucks, and I wish none of it had happened. It's a really sad day! But I want to make one thing clear: we'll keep fighting for open-source AI, harder than ever,' he wrote.
The statement signals real concern in open-source circles. Huang was a vocal champion of open-weight AI models — in July 2026, he published Nvidia's first-ever X post, a policy letter co-signed by 25 companies including Microsoft, Meta, IBM, and Palantir, urging the U.S. government against over-restricting open-weight models. Without him, questions mount over whether Nvidia's new leadership will hold that line.
The U.S. Department of Justice began probing the Hugging Face deal's competitive impact in October 2026, per Reuters. Nvidia pledged to preserve the platform's open model support, though critics note the deal would hand the chip giant control over a primary AI model distribution hub. The acquisition is still set to close in the first half of 2027. Hugging Face did not respond to questions about conversations with Nvidia's interim CEO Collette Kress.