Open source AI is booming. Hugging Face explains who profits.

Watch as Hugging Face's Irene Solaiman joins Equity to explain what startups need to know when building on open AI models, and how to evaluate the tools around them and keep the open ecosystem secure. Open source models are becoming more mainstream as enterprises, governments and startups alike rely on the promise of lower costs, more control, and more flexibility. But as increasingly capable models become more freely available, how do companies capture value?

And with Chinese open models gaining ground, can American players keep up? On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Irene Solaiman, Chief Policy Officer and SVP of Strategy at Hugging Face, about what startups need to know before building on open models, from choosing the right tools and infrastructure to navigating the trade-offs shaping the future of open AI.