SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has formalized a $12.93 billion agreement to acquire artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The companies reached a definitive agreement on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will compensate Hugging Face shareholders approximately $11.9 billion, subject to typical adjustments. Additionally, the deal includes the possibility of granting up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates the transaction will be finalized in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the largest platforms dedicated to sharing artificial intelligence models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia reports that the platform serves more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators globally. Its offerings include over 3 million models and roughly 500,000 datasets, along with access to more than 1 million applications. More than 200,000 companies utilize Hugging Face’s services for AI development, evaluation, customization, and deployment across diverse computing environments.
Following the deal, Hugging Face will continue functioning as an open platform even after the acquisition is completed. Developers will retain the freedom to choose their models, frameworks, cloud services, and computing platforms. Nvidia hardware will not be required to access Hugging Face tools or to deploy models through the platform. The company will also persist in supporting open-source and open-weight models created by other developers. Its services will continue to support multiple clouds, inference providers, and accelerator platforms, including hardware supplied by other semiconductor manufacturers.
Hugging Face commits to maintaining an open development environment
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 for 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. Prior to the acquisition, Nvidia collaborated with Hugging Face through projects that linked developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software, leveraging 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 acquisition is still pending and has not yet closed. It remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Nvidia also outlined commitments regarding the future operation of Hugging Face, including ongoing access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other semiconductor companies.
Anticipated closing set for the first half of 2027
Nvidia has an established presence within the Hugging Face community, having published over 500 models and more than 250 open datasets on the platform. The company also offers software libraries and development tools that users can adapt and incorporate into their projects. Hugging Face supports developers during multiple phases of AI development, including model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment. The platform also supplies infrastructure for corporations, research groups, and independent developers building AI applications.
The acquisition by Nvidia will proceed only after all necessary conditions are fulfilled, with completion expected during the first half of 2027. Under the terms announced, Hugging Face will continue supporting models and tools across the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will maintain their choices of frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware. Both companies have committed to preserving Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator strategy following the acquisition’s conclusion.