Nvidia closes in on Hugging Face acquisition
Nvidia has reportedly agreed to acquire Hugging Face, the leading platform for discovering, sharing and deploying open-source AI models. The reported $12.9 billion price is almost three times Hugging Face’s last widely reported private valuation. Nvidia already controls much of the compute layer through its GPUs and an increasingly important share of AI networking through Mellanox. Hugging Face would give it a central position in the developer workflow, connecting hardware with model discovery, distribution and deployment. Why it matters: Microsoft owns GitHub, Nvidia may soon own Hugging Face, and the neutrality of major developer platforms is becoming strategically valuable. The transaction could also increase acquisition interest in independent AI infrastructure companies such as Baseten, Replicate and fal.
Alice raises a $140 million Series C
Israeli AI trust, safety and security company Alice raised $140 million in a round led by Apax Digital, with participation from Samsung, SentinelOne, Maj Invest, MoreTech, Phoenix Insurance, Norwest, CRV, Vintage, Grove and Highland Europe. The round values Alice at a reported $700 million to $800 million and brings its total funding to $280 million. Alice was founded in 2018 as ActiveFence by Noam Schwartz, Iftach Orr, Alon Porat and Eyal Dykan. The company initially helped online platforms detect fraud, harmful content, disinformation and coordinated malicious activity. It is now applying that experience to stress-test, monitor and defend AI models and agents. Why it matters: AI agents can access company data, use tools and take actions autonomously. That creates risks that conventional security products were not designed to address. Alice’s reported annual recurring revenue is approaching $100 million, suggesting that AI security is moving rapidly from experimentation into a meaningful enterprise budget.
The Israeli Startup’s US Playbook
Entering the US requires more than opening an office or hiring a salesperson. Israeli founders need to select a focused commercial beachhead, remain directly involved in early customer acquisition and build a repeatable land-and-expand motion. The first US hire should usually be commercial rather than technical, but geography should follow customers. New York can be a strong base for financial services, commerce, media and enterprise buyers, while the Bay Area remains important for AI infrastructure, developer tools and technology partnerships. Why it matters: Many Israeli startups enter the US too broadly, hire too early or expect a local executive to replace founder-led sales. The strongest expansions begin with a narrow customer segment, a clear reason to win and a founder who stays close enough to turn early deployments into a repeatable playbook.
Insight Partners: Israeli founders’ adaptability remains an advantage
Teddie Wardi, Managing Director at Insight Partners, told CTech that Israeli founders continue to stand out for their ability to iterate quickly, change direction and execute through geopolitical uncertainty. Insight, which manages approximately $90 billion, has backed Israeli companies including Wiz, Monday.com and Deci. Wardi sees the strongest opportunity in applied AI companies with genuine technical depth, particularly vertical and horizontal agent systems that solve concrete customer problems. He argues that as the marginal cost of writing software approaches zero, defensibility increasingly comes from a team’s ability to stay close to customers, identify what works and continuously improve the product. Why it matters: Adaptability remains an Israeli advantage, but proximity to customers is still a structural challenge. The strongest founders will combine speed with disciplined customer engagement, embedding with large enterprises in the US and Europe and turning what they learn into repeatable products. That directly reinforces the central message of the Israeli Startup’s US Playbook.
