Hugging Face, founded in 2016, shifted from a consumer chatbot focus to a major open-source AI platform and secured a May 2022 Series C valued at about $2 billion, with notable investors including Durant and Rich Kleiman.

Durant’s early investment of $250,000 in Hugging Face could be worth over $60 million upon acquisition, representing roughly a 240-fold return, though the exact payout remains undisclosed.

Durant’s tech bets via Thirty Five Ventures span a broad portfolio, including stakes in Whoop, Coinbase, Postmates, Robinhood, and Acorns, reflecting a diversified technology and consumer strategy.

Hugging Face has attracted backing from major tech giants and AI peers such as Google, Amazon, Salesforce, AMD, Intel, and Nvidia, underscoring strong investor interest in its AI infrastructure and tools.

Nvidia agreed to acquire Hugging Face for about $12.93 billion, with approximately $11.9 billion paid to stockholders and around $1 billion set aside for an equity-based retention program.

Thirty Five Ventures, led by Durant and Kleiman, invested roughly $250,000 in Hugging Face across 2018 and 2019, laying the groundwork for later gains.

Hugging Face has evolved from a consumer chatbot startup into a leading open-source AI platform offering tools, models, datasets, and applications for developers.

The company’s growth trajectory since its seed rounds is highlighted by the Series C valuation and the involvement of Durant and Kleiman in the 2022 funding round.

While a $60 million figure is cited as an estimate, actual returns are not guaranteed and depend on ownership changes across funding rounds and undisclosed holdings.