Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is using the fallout from OpenAI’s attack on Hugging Face to launch an AI security campaign in the tech industry built around open models.

On Monday, the chipmaker joined Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR), SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX), and dozens of US and European companies to create the Open Secure AI Alliance, promising to create a security software that users can download, inspect, alter, and run.

Details of the Hugging Face breach triggered the launch. Its team could not use leading US frontier models because their safety controls treated attackers and defenders alike. Hugging Face instead ran a Chinese open-weight model on its own hardware.

As Cryptopolitan previously reported, that system did not block the same defensive actions. The case surfaced while US lawmakers considered limits on Chinese AI products, including advanced open-weight models.

Nvidia and its partners give cyber defenders control over open AI tools

Open-weight models allow users to read and modify system files locally. Anthropic and OpenAI’s closed services are still housed on corporate-owned platforms, so customers are unable to host, modify, or thoroughly inspect those products. During the attack, Hugging Face was harmed by that very restriction.

“The Open Secure AI Alliance will work to remediate and disclose vulnerabilities using open technologies,” Nvidia said. “The recent Hugging Face security incident delivered a clear reminder: cyber defenders need open, frontier agentic systems for self-defense.”

Members of the alliance plan to share fixes created with open technology and also publish security vulnerabilities. Additionally, they want defenders to operate AI agents within private networks and customize the software to each threat without having to wait for a third-party source.

Nvidia referred to the OpenAI and Hugging Face incident as a “practical truth.” Last week, a letter was issued to lawmakers by Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), Palantir, and over 20 other companies. It requested that authorities refrain from imposing “premature restrictions” on open-weight models that would “stifle competition or push innovation overseas.”

As you know, right now Chinese developers provide virtually all of the powerful downloaded models, which raises the urgency of stricter US regulations.

Nvidia is making infrastructure commitments in addition to the security project. It had already inked letters of intent for projects worth more than $500 billion with the SK Group of South Korea. Future memory supply, AI factories, and collaborative development of new memory technology are all guaranteed under the contract.

Nvidia backs major computing projects across South Korea and southern Ohio

In South Korea, SK Telecom (KRX: 017670) wants to build a 2-gigawatt AI cloud. They plan to use SK Hynix (KRX: 000660) HBM4 memory, Vera Rubin computing system, and Nvidia’s DSX platform. In first half of 2027, the first facility is projected to open.

Nvidia’s DSX full-stack design, which combines accelerated processors, integrated systems, software, networking, and partner equipment, will be used in the plants too. As demand for AI grows throughout Asia-Pacific, particularly in South Korea, companies want to reduce energy consumption and processing expenses.

Nvidia is also planning to offer a cash guarantee of around $250 billion for an OpenAI data center facility in southern Ohio. According to the Wall Street Journal, the project’s total value might approach $500 billion after all of the chips are counted. The location would provide 10 gigawatts, making it the largest announced data center project.

A SoftBank energy subsidiary is building the campus. Nvidia’s backing may enable SoftBank Group (TYO: 9984) to borrow on easier terms. OpenAI is private, unprofitable, and has no investment-grade credit rating, and so it has spent multiple weeks in advanced negotiations to lease the property.

OpenAI has shown the strongest interest. Anthropic, Microsoft, and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) have also discussed the site with Howard Lutnick. A signed lease would make OpenAI a direct data center tenant for the first time. It currently rents most computing capacity from Microsoft, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Oracle (NYSE: ORCL).

OpenAI recently raised planned computing spending through 2030 to about $750 billion, from roughly $600 billion earlier this year.

Nvidia is currently worth about $5 trillion and wants larger long-term chip orders. Its latest annual report warned that data center financing could reduce near-term cash flow and increase exposure to customer credit risk.

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