SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has agreed to purchase artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face in a deal worth $12.93 billion. The agreement was finalized on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face shareholders, subject to standard adjustments. Additionally, the deal includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention bonuses for eligible staff. Nvidia anticipates completing the acquisition in the first half of 2027, contingent on regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the largest platforms for sharing AI models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia states that the platform reaches over 18 million developers, researchers, and creators worldwide. Its ecosystem hosts more than 3 million models and roughly 500,000 datasets, along with access to over 1 million applications. More than 200,000 companies utilize Hugging Face for AI development, testing, customization, and deployment across various computing environments.
Both companies confirmed that Hugging Face will continue functioning as an open platform post-acquisition. Developers will retain freedom to select their models, frameworks, cloud services, and computing infrastructure. Nvidia hardware will not be mandatory for using Hugging Face tools or deploying models. The platform will maintain support for open-source and open-weight models from third-party developers. Its services will continue to support multiple cloud providers, inference platforms, and hardware accelerators, including those supplied by other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face to Sustain Open Development Practices
Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face has grown into a hub for model hosting, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services related to AI projects. The company achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion during a funding round completed in August 2023, raising $235 million from technology investors. Nvidia had previously collaborated with Hugging Face on projects that linked developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software using familiar development tools from Hugging Face.
Nvidia disclosed the deal through a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026. The filing indicates the acquisition is still pending and has not yet been finalized. The process remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing requirements. Nvidia also outlined commitments to ensure the platform’s future operations, including ongoing access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other semiconductor companies.
Expected Completion in Early 2027
Nvidia already has a significant footprint within the Hugging Face community, having published over 500 models and more than 250 open datasets on the platform. It also supplies software libraries and development tools that users can adapt for their projects. Hugging Face supports users at various stages of AI development, from model discovery to deployment. The platform provides infrastructure for corporations, research entities, and independent developers creating AI applications.
The acquisition remains subject to review until all conditions are satisfied, with Nvidia expecting to finalize it in the first half of 2027. Under the terms announced, Hugging Face will continue to support models and tools from the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will have ongoing freedom to choose frameworks, cloud services, inference providers, and hardware. Both companies have committed to preserving Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator approach even after the deal concludes.