Hugging Face Fights AI Monopoly with $10M in Computing Resources

Hugging Face, a machine learning platform, is allocating $10 million for free GPUs through the ZeroGPU project to help developers create new open AI technologies. The goal is to empower small developers, scientists, and startups to combat the centralization of AI achievements. Hugging Face's CEO expressed concern about the lack of competition from startups in AI compared to tech giants. The platform aims to make cutting-edge AI technologies accessible to everyone. Access to computing power is crucial for building large language models, leading companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to partner with cloud computing providers. Hugging Face aims to level the playing field with ZeroGPU, available through Hugging Face's Spaces hosting platform. The GPUs used in ZeroGPU are Nvidia A100, providing half the computing speed of H100. Obtaining GPUs from major cloud providers is challenging for small companies, putting them at a disadvantage. Hugging Face engineer Andrew Reid has developed an application visualizing the progress of proprietary and open-source LLM programs over time. Google and Qualcomm have released open language models, while Intel introduced the OpenVINO 2024.0 toolkit for deploying AI systems on various hardware.

Snowflake Considers $1B Acquisition of Singaporean Co-Founded AI Startup
Snowflake, a platform for AI and data analytics, is contemplating a $1 billion deal to acquire generative AI developer Reka AI. Reka AI, founded by ex-Google and Meta employees, specializes in large language models for online customer support and caption generation. The company raised $58 million in funding in June 2023 and is valued at $300 million. Acquiring Reka AI could enhance Snowflake's business by allowing customers to use third-party AI models. Snowflake previously launched its own language model, Arctic, and Reka Core, a multimodal language model competitive with leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The potential acquisition comes amid a revenue growth slump for Snowflake due to reduced software purchases, leading to a 17% drop in shares this year.