Hugging Face Secures $40 Million to Expand Popular NLP Library
AI startup Hugging Face raises a $40 million Series B round to grow its widely used open-source natural language processing library. The company currently supports 5,000 organizations and operates as a cash-flow positive business.
Hugging Face raises a $40 million Series B funding round led by Addition to expand its open-source natural language processing library. Existing investors Lux Capital, A.Capital, and Betaworks also participate in the round, which features a host of notable tech and sports figures. The funding comes as the company experiences a fivefold increase in its valuation.
The startup builds the Transformers library on GitHub, which boasts 42,000 stars and allows developers to leverage popular NLP models like BERT and GPT-2. Around 5,000 companies use the technology to classify text, extract information, and power support chatbots. Major clients include Microsoft Bing, challenger bank Monzo, Bloomberg, and Typeform.
Hugging Face plans to triple its headcount across its New York and Paris offices with the new capital. The company currently generates a profit, as it remains cash-flow positive in early 2021 and still holds 90% of its previous funding round in the bank. By offering paid prioritized support and private model hosting, Hugging Face establishes itself as the central hub for NLP enthusiasts.