SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a $12.93 billion deal to acquire the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face. The agreement was signed on September 2, 2026, with Nvidia set to pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face shareholders, subject to standard adjustments. Additionally, the deal includes the possibility of offering up to around $1 billion in equity-based retention awards to eligible staff members. Nvidia projects that the acquisition will be completed in the first half of 2027, pending necessary approvals and other closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the world’s largest platforms for sharing AI models, datasets, software tools, and applications. Nvidia states that this platform reaches more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators worldwide. It hosts over 3 million models, roughly 500,000 datasets, and offers access to more than 1 million applications. Over 200,000 businesses utilize Hugging Face services for various stages of AI development, testing, customization, and deployment across diverse computing environments.
Both companies emphasized that Hugging Face will continue functioning as an open platform even after the acquisition concludes. Developers will still have the freedom to select their preferred models, frameworks, cloud providers, and computing platforms. Nvidia’s hardware will not become a requirement for utilizing Hugging Face tools or deploying models on the platform. The company also committed to supporting open-source and open-weight models from other creators. Its services will maintain compatibility with multiple clouds, inference providers, and hardware accelerators, including those supplied by other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face Will Persist as an Open Development Ecosystem
Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face initially focused on model hosting. It later expanded into datasets, developer libraries, and cloud solutions for AI projects. The company achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion during a funding round completed in August 2023, raising $235 million from tech investors. Prior to the acquisition agreement, Nvidia collaborated with Hugging Face on projects that connected developers to Nvidia’s computing resources and software through familiar development tools from Hugging Face.
Nvidia disclosed the agreement in a Form 8-K submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026. The filing confirms that the deal remains pending and has not yet been finalized. It still requires regulatory approval and adherence to usual closing conditions. Nvidia also outlined commitments ensuring the future operation of Hugging Face, including ongoing access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware accelerators from companies other than Nvidia.
Expected Closure in the First Half of 2027
Nvidia already maintains a significant footprint within the Hugging Face community, having published over 500 models and more than 250 open datasets on the platform. The company offers software libraries and development tools that users can modify and incorporate into their projects. Hugging Face supports developers during various phases of AI development, including model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment. Its infrastructure serves companies, research institutions, and independent developers creating AI applications.
The acquisition of Hugging Face by Nvidia will continue to be scrutinized until all necessary conditions are satisfied. Nvidia anticipates that the deal will close during the first half of 2027. Under the agreed terms, Hugging Face will persist in supporting models and tools across the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will retain flexibility with frameworks, cloud platforms, inference providers, and hardware options. Both companies have also committed to maintaining Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator strategies after the acquisition is finalized.