SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a $12.93 billion agreement to acquire the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The two companies reached a definitive deal on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will allocate approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face stockholders, subject to standard adjustments. Additionally, the transaction includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates completing the acquisition in the first half of 2027, pending necessary approvals and other closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the largest AI model sharing platforms. It also hosts datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia states that the platform reaches more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators globally. It hosts over 3 million models and about 500,000 datasets. The platform also offers access to more than 1 million applications. Over 200,000 companies use Hugging Face services for AI development, testing, customization, and deployment across various computing environments.
Both companies emphasized that Hugging Face will continue functioning as an open platform after the deal closes. Developers will retain the freedom to choose their models, frameworks, cloud services, and computing platforms. Nvidia hardware will not be mandatory for using Hugging Face tools or deploying models via the platform. The company will also keep supporting open-source and open-weight models from other developers. Its services will continue to support multiple clouds, inference providers, and hardware accelerators, including those from other semiconductor manufacturers.
Hugging Face to Sustain Open Development
Hugging Face was founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf. The company later expanded into hosting models, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services for AI projects. It reached a valuation of $4.5 billion during a funding round completed in August 2023. The round raised $235 million from technology investors. Nvidia had previously collaborated with Hugging Face on projects connecting developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software using familiar Hugging Face tools.
Nvidia disclosed the agreement in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026. The filing states that the acquisition is still pending and has not yet closed. Regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions are still required. Nvidia also outlined commitments for the future operation of Hugging Face. These include continued access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other companies besides Nvidia.
Expected Closure in Early 2027
Nvidia already has a strong presence in the Hugging Face ecosystem. 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 users can modify for their projects. Hugging Face supports developers at every stage of AI development, from model discovery to deployment. It provides infrastructure for businesses, research institutions, and individual developers building AI applications.
The acquisition is subject to review until all conditions are met. Nvidia expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027. According to the agreed terms, Hugging Face will continue supporting models and tools from the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will keep their options open regarding frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware. Both companies have committed to maintaining Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator approach after the transaction concludes.