Investing.com -- Nvidia has reportedly acquired Hugging Face, an AI model hub and open-source AI tools platform founded by three French entrepreneurs in New York, according to DA Davidson. The acquisition appears to be a defensive strategy to protect the open-source AI ecosystem.

Hugging Face operates as a repository for AI models and open-source AI tools, with an estimated $150 million in run rate revenue. The company has been compared to GitHub before its acquisition by Microsoft.

The acquisition aims to prevent major AI labs or Google from controlling the platform, which could potentially slow down open-source AI development in the United States. The move follows concerns that emerged from Microsoft's GitHub acquisition, which put other companies at a disadvantage and led Google to support GitLab as an alternative.

Hugging Face recently became part of OpenAI's security demonstration, where the company worked with third-party researchers to showcase how AI agents could identify and exploit vulnerabilities in the platform. The demonstration was part of ongoing efforts by OpenAI and Anthropic to highlight AI security concerns.

Anthropic has taken a different approach by partnering with Salesforce to increase token usage from enterprise customers. The partnership aims to direct Salesforce customers away from open-source token alternatives.

DA Davidson indicated that both semiconductor companies and hyperscalers stand to benefit from the continued development of open-source AI.