SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized an agreement to purchase Hugging Face in a transaction valued at approximately $12.93 billion. The deal was officially signed on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will compensate Hugging Face shareholders with around $11.9 billion, subject to standard adjustments. Additionally, the arrangement includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates the deal will be completed in the first half of 2027, contingent upon regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Hugging Face is known for its popular platform supporting AI models, datasets, applications, and developer tools. According to Nvidia, more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators rely on the platform. It hosts over 3 million AI models and approximately 500,000 datasets. The platform also enables more than 1 million applications. Over 200,000 companies utilize Hugging Face for activities including model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment across various computing environments.
Post-acquisition, Hugging Face will keep providing support for developers working with different models, frameworks, cloud providers, and computing platforms. Nvidia clarified that its hardware will not become a prerequisite for using the platform. The service will continue hosting open-source and open-weight models from multiple developers and organizations. Compatibility with multiple cloud services and accelerator technologies will be maintained. Nvidia also pledged to ensure ongoing compatibility with silicon products from other semiconductor manufacturers after the deal is finalized.
Open platform access will persist regardless of hardware choices
Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face has expanded from software tools into a comprehensive platform for hosting models, datasets, applications, and cloud-based AI development. In August 2023, the company achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion after raising $235 million in funding. Nvidia maintained an existing relationship with Hugging Face prior to reaching the acquisition agreement. Their collaboration included projects that linked Hugging Face users with Nvidia’s computing resources and software.
Nvidia disclosed the deal through a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026. The filing confirms that the acquisition is still pending and details the conditions that must be fulfilled before completion. These include regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions. Nvidia separately committed to supporting Hugging Face operations post-closing, including continuous access to models and datasets, multi-cloud functionality, and support for hardware accelerators from other semiconductor manufacturers.
The acquisition process is contingent on regulatory clearance
Nvidia currently offers a broad range of AI resources through Hugging Face, including over 500 published models and more than 250 open datasets. The company also provides software libraries and development tools for customization and project integration. Hugging Face serves a diverse clientele, including companies, researchers, and independent developers, supporting various stages from model selection to performance evaluation, system customization, and deployment of AI applications.
The full completion of Nvidia’s acquisition of Hugging Face hinges on meeting the necessary conditions and obtaining approvals. Nvidia estimates the $12.93 billion deal will conclude during the first half of 2027. Under the announced commitments, Hugging Face will continue to support multiple clouds, frameworks, inference providers, and hardware platforms. Developers will retain access to non-Nvidia hardware options as well. Until the transaction is finalized, Nvidia and Hugging Face will operate as independent entities, adhering to the terms outlined in the agreement.