SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a $12.93 billion deal to acquire the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The firms reached the definitive agreement on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will distribute roughly $11.9 billion to Hugging Face shareholders, subject to standard adjustments. Additionally, the deal includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for eligible staff. Nvidia anticipates the acquisition will be completed in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the largest platforms for sharing artificial intelligence models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia states that this service reaches over 18 million developers, researchers, and creators worldwide. Its platform hosts more than 3 million models and approximately 500,000 datasets, along with access to over 1 million applications. More than 200,000 companies utilize Hugging Face’s services for AI development, evaluation, customization, and deployment across various computing environments.
Both companies have confirmed that Hugging Face will continue functioning as an open platform after the transaction concludes. Developers will still have the freedom to select their models, frameworks, cloud services, and computing platforms. Nvidia hardware will not be required for using Hugging Face tools or deploying models through the platform. The company also pledged to maintain support for open-source and open-weight models from other developers. Its services will continue supporting multiple clouds, inference providers, and accelerator platforms, including hardware from other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face to Maintain Open Development Approach
Hugging Face was founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf. Over time, the company expanded into hosting models, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services for AI projects. In August 2023, Hugging Face achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion following a funding round that raised $235 million from technology investors. Nvidia had previously collaborated with Hugging Face on projects connecting developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software via familiar development tools before the acquisition agreement.
Nvidia disclosed the deal in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026. The filing notes that the acquisition is still pending and has not yet been finalized. The deal remains contingent on regulatory approvals and usual closing conditions. Nvidia also outlined commitments concerning the future operations of Hugging Face, including ongoing access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other companies besides Nvidia.
Expected Completion Set for the First Half of 2027
Nvidia already maintains a significant presence within Hugging Face’s developer community. The company reports having published over 500 models and more than 250 open datasets on the platform. Nvidia also offers software libraries and development tools that can be customized and integrated into user projects. Hugging Face facilitates AI development at various stages, including model discovery, testing, adaptation, and deployment. Its infrastructure supports enterprises, research institutions, and independent developers building AI applications.
The acquisition of Hugging Face by Nvidia will proceed only after all necessary conditions are satisfied, with an expected completion during the first half of 2027. According to the agreed terms, Hugging Face will continue to support models and tools across the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will retain choices regarding frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware. Both companies also committed to preserving Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator strategy even after the acquisition is finalized.