Source – venturebeat.com
Hugging Face, a leading developer tools provider has announced its acquisition of XetHub, a data storage and collaboration startup founded by former Apple engineers. The move is part of Hugging Face’s ongoing effort to democratize artificial intelligence (AI) and streamline the development of machine learning applications.
Shared Vision of Democratizing AI
XetHub’s CEO, Yucheng Low, shared on LinkedIn that both companies are aligned in their mission to make AI accessible to everyone. “Together we share a vision of democratizing AI to enable everyone to host, share, and build models and datasets,” Low wrote. He added that XetHub’s technologies would be integrated into the Hugging Face Hub to further enhance AI collaboration.
The acquisition comes amid a surge in demand for data storage and computational power driven by the rapid growth of AI. Hugging Face’s acquisition of XetHub is the latest example of smaller AI startups being absorbed by larger companies in the industry.
Expanding Capabilities and Workforce
Based in New York, Hugging Face provides various tools that assist companies in testing, storing, and running large-scale AI models, which require significant computing and storage resources. The company raised $235 million in a Series D funding round last year and recently acquired Argilla, another developer tool startup, for $10 million in June.
While Hugging Face has not disclosed the financial terms of the XetHub acquisition, the company stated that this is its largest acquisition to date. The acquisition of XetHub will add 14 employees of XetHub to Hugging Face’s workforce, further bolstering its capabilities.
XetHub’s Founders and Vision
XetHub, founded in 2021 and based in Seattle, was co-founded by Yucheng Low, Rajat Arya, and Ajit Banerjee, all of whom have extensive experience in the tech industry. Low and Arya both worked at Turi, a Seattle-based machine learning startup acquired by Apple in 2016, and later spent several years at Apple. Banerjee, the third co-founder, is a former senior software architect at Apple and co-founded TalentWorks, a Seattle-based startup focused on job interviewing and matching.
Last year, Arya highlighted the growing importance of AI in everyday applications, stating that intelligent applications, once the domain of tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple, are increasingly being adopted by businesses of all sizes.
XetHub raised $7.5 million in funding last year from Madrona Ventures, and the acquisition by Hugging Face marks a significant step in its journey to expand AI-powered solutions to a broader audience.
