SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a $12.93 billion deal to acquire the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The formal agreement was reached on September 2, 2026. Nvidia plans to pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face stockholders, with standard adjustments potentially applying. Additionally, the transaction includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards aimed at eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates that the acquisition will be completed in the first half of 2027, contingent upon regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Hugging Face hosts one of the largest platforms for sharing AI models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia states that the platform reaches more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators worldwide. It supports over 3 million models and roughly 500,000 datasets. The platform also provides access to over 1 million applications. More than 200,000 companies leverage Hugging Face services for AI development, testing, customization, and deployment across diverse computing environments.
Post-acquisition, Hugging Face will continue to operate as an open platform. Developers will retain 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 commits to ongoing support for open-source and open-weight models from other developers. Its services will uphold compatibility with multiple cloud providers, inference solutions, and accelerator platforms, including hardware from other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face Will Maintain Its Open Development Strategy
Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face has expanded into hosting models, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services for AI projects. During a funding round completed in August 2023, the company achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion, securing $235 million from tech investors. Prior to the acquisition, Nvidia collaborated with Hugging Face through projects connecting developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software, utilizing familiar Hugging Face development tools.
The agreement was disclosed by Nvidia in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026. The filing indicates that the deal remains pending and has yet to close. It still needs regulatory approval and adherence to usual closing conditions. Nvidia also outlined commitments regarding the future operation of the Hugging Face platform, which include continued access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other semiconductor companies besides Nvidia.
The Acquisition Is Expected to Conclude in the First Half of 2027
Nvidia already has a significant footprint within Hugging Face’s developer community. The company states it has 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 users’ projects. Hugging Face continues to support developers at various stages of AI development, including model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment. The platform provides infrastructure for corporations, research institutions, and independent developers building AI applications.
The completion of Nvidia’s acquisition of Hugging Face will depend on meeting all regulatory and contractual requirements. Nvidia projects that the deal will close in the first half of 2027. Under the agreed terms, Hugging Face will persist in supporting models and tools from across the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will continue to have options involving frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware from various semiconductor firms. Both companies have committed to maintaining Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator strategy even after the transaction is finalized.