SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a $12.93 billion deal to acquire the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The companies reached a definitive agreement on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face shareholders, subject to standard adjustments. The deal also 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 manages one of the largest platforms for sharing AI models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia reports that the service reaches more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators globally. Its platform hosts over 3 million models and roughly 500,000 datasets. It also offers access to more than 1 million applications. Over 200,000 companies utilize Hugging Face services for AI development, testing, customization, and deployment across diverse computing environments.
The companies stated that Hugging Face will keep functioning as an open platform after the deal concludes. Developers will still be free to select 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. Additionally, Hugging Face will continue supporting open-source and open-weight models from other developers. Its services will maintain compatibility with multiple clouds, inference providers, and accelerator platforms, including hardware supplied by other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face to Maintain Open Development Practices
Hugging Face was founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf. The company later expanded into model hosting, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services for AI projects. In August 2023, Hugging Face achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion after raising $235 million from technology investors. Prior to the acquisition, Nvidia collaborated with Hugging Face on projects that connected developers with Nvidia computing resources and software through familiar Hugging Face development 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 indicates that the deal remains pending and has not yet closed. It still requires regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Nvidia also outlined commitments regarding the future of Hugging Face, including continued access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other companies besides Nvidia.
Expected Closing in the First Half of 2027
Nvidia already maintains a significant presence within the Hugging Face developer community. The company reports having published over 500 models and more than 250 open datasets on the platform. It also provides software libraries and development tools that users can modify and incorporate into their projects. Hugging Face supports developers at every stage of AI development, including model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment. The platform also offers infrastructure for corporations, research institutions, and independent developers building AI applications.
The acquisition of Hugging Face by Nvidia will continue to be reviewed until all conditions are satisfied. Nvidia expects to finalize the deal during the first half of 2027. Under the agreed terms, Hugging Face will keep supporting models and tools from the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will retain their freedom to choose frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware. Both companies have committed to preserving Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator approach after the acquisition is completed.