Clément Delangue, chief executive of Hugging Face, briefly reacted on Thursday to the departure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, calling the development “a really sad day” in a post on X. In his November 12, 2026 message Delangue wrote: “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. This is too important to slow down now. Let’s go!”
Why the reaction matters
The post drew attention because it suggests Huang’s exit could unsettle open‑source advocates and Delangue sought to reassure that Hugging Face will continue to support open models. As Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang had been publicly supportive of open‑source AI and open‑weight models, prompting questions about how the company’s stance might change without his leadership.
The Nvidia–Hugging Face deal and legal scrutiny
Nvidia announced in September that it planned to acquire the Hugging Face platform for $12.9 billion — the company’s second‑largest acquisition, behind the December 2025 purchase of Groq’s assets for $20 billion. Reuters reported in October that the U.S. Department of Justice began inquiries into how the deal might affect competition in the AI market.
Nvidia has pledged that the platform would retain open support, but the acquisition would also give the company control over a major distribution channel for AI models. The deal remains scheduled to close in the first half of 2027. Requests for further comment on the transaction’s status and whether Hugging Face has spoken with Nvidia’s interim CEO Collette Kress were not returned.
Huang’s public advocacy for open models
Jensen Huang’s support for open‑source and open‑weight AI extended beyond the Hugging Face transaction. In July he published an AI policy letter as his first post on X; the letter was signed by 25 companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Hugging Face, IBM, and Palantir. The letter urged the U.S. government not to over‑restrict open‑weight AI models, arguing that models “anyone can download, inspect, modify, and run on their own infrastructure” improve accessibility, adaptability, and availability within the AI ecosystem.
Huang also argued that open‑weight models expand access to the AI economy, strengthen competition, and reduce vendor lock‑in, stating that “open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.”
Related Nvidia moves toward an open ecosystem
This year Nvidia has announced several initiatives related to the open AI ecosystem: in August it revealed a $6 billion deal with coding startup Poolside to help build an open AI ecosystem in the U.S. intended to bolster competitiveness against Chinese firms. Nvidia also recently expanded its Nemotron family of open‑weight models with a large 120‑billion‑parameter model for enterprise agents and two new lightweight Bolt models designed to run on personal computers.
Conclusion
Delangue’s concise but forceful statement signals concern within the open‑source AI community over Huang’s departure, while pledging that Hugging Face will intensify its support for open models. The Nvidia–Hugging Face transaction remains under regulatory scrutiny as industry actors and regulators continue to monitor its competitive implications.
