SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has formalized a $12.93 billion agreement to acquire the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The companies reached a definitive agreement on September 2, 2026. Nvidia plans to 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 awards for eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates completing the acquisition in the first half of 2027, pending necessary approvals and closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the largest platforms dedicated to sharing artificial intelligence models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia reports that this service reaches over 18 million developers, researchers, and creators around the globe. Its platform hosts more than 3 million models and roughly 500,000 datasets. It also offers access to over 1 million applications. More than 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 is finalized. 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 through the platform. Moreover, Hugging Face will maintain support for open-source and open-weight models created by other developers. Its services will continue supporting multiple cloud providers, inference services, and hardware accelerators, including products from other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face to Maintain an Open Development Framework
Hugging Face was founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf. Since then, the company has expanded into hosting models, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services for AI projects. During a funding round completed in August 2023, Hugging Face achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion. That round raised $235 million from technology investors. Prior to the acquisition, Nvidia already collaborated with Hugging Face through projects connecting developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software via 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 confirms that the deal is still pending and has not yet closed. It still requires regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Nvidia also outlined commitments regarding the future operation of the Hugging Face platform. These include ongoing access to models and datasets, support across multiple clouds, and compatibility with hardware accelerators from companies other than Nvidia.
Expected Closure in the First Half of 2027
Nvidia already has a significant presence within the Hugging Face developer community. The chipmaker states it has 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 and integrate into their projects. Hugging Face supports developers during various phases of AI development, including model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment. The platform also provides infrastructure for corporations, research institutions, and independent developers working on AI applications.
The acquisition by Nvidia will remain subject to review until all conditions are satisfied. Nvidia expects the process to conclude in the first half of 2027. According to the announced terms, Hugging Face will continue supporting models and tools from the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will retain the freedom to choose frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware. Both companies have committed to maintaining Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator approach even after the deal closes.