Nvidia Buys Hugging Face

By the Orchestra editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

Nvidia reportedly acquiring Hugging Face for $12.9B, reshaping the open-source AI landscape
Anthropic publishes hardware standard for AI agents to control physical devices
Australian banks open up procurement to local AI startups under new federal accelerator
Queensland blocks data centres from planning fast-track laws

AI · Worldwide

Nvidia reportedly acquiring Hugging Face for $12.9B

Nvidia has agreed to buy Hugging Face, the dominant open-source model hub, for roughly $12.9 billion — about 80x its annual revenue. The deal strengthens Nvidia's position in the open model ecosystem as closed labs like OpenAI and Anthropic increasingly build their own silicon.

Anthropic proposes hardware standard for AI agents in the physical world

Anthropic has published a standardised driver interface designed to let AI agents communicate with and control physical devices. The spec aims to be a common layer so hardware makers don't each need bespoke integrations with every agent framework.

Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash ships with cheaper video generation and longer scene extensions

Google DeepMind's updated video model can now analyse up to ten seconds of existing footage for more consistent extensions, with a new 360p draft mode that runs 60% faster at a third of the cost. Scenes extend in 10-second increments up to 40 seconds.

Adobe ships AI Assisted Editor view for Photoshop

Photoshop's new beta interface consolidates all AI tools into a single toolbar and adds a markup feature that lets you draw directly on an image to guide edits — sketch arrows, brush rough shapes or recolour selected areas. It's a meaningful workflow change for teams already leaning on generative fill.

Australian Tech

Federal government launches Buy Australian AI accelerator with major banks

Assistant minister Andrew Charlton launched the Buy Australian AI Partnership, giving local AI startups a direct path into bank procurement. The program warns Australia's window to avoid lock-in to overseas vendors is closing fast.

Queensland blocks data centres from planning fast-track

An eleventh-hour amendment to Queensland's new planning laws prevents data centres from being declared state strategic projects, blocking compulsory land acquisition and priority approvals. The move sits awkwardly beside national cabinet's push to accelerate AI infrastructure.