SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a $12.93 billion agreement to acquire Hugging Face, an AI platform. The formal deal was signed on September 2, 2026, with Nvidia set to pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face shareholders, subject to typical adjustments. The transaction includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates closing the acquisition in the first half of 2027 after obtaining necessary approvals and fulfilling other closing conditions.
Hugging Face operates one of the largest communities for sharing AI models, datasets, tools, and applications. Nvidia states that the platform reaches more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators globally. Its ecosystem hosts over 3 million models and roughly 500,000 datasets, while offering access to over 1 million applications. More than 200,000 companies utilize Hugging Face’s services for AI development, evaluation, customization, and deployment across diverse computing environments.
Both companies have indicated that Hugging Face will continue functioning as an open platform after the deal’s completion. Developers will remain free to choose their models, frameworks, cloud providers, and computing platforms, with Nvidia hardware not becoming mandatory for using Hugging Face tools or deploying models on the platform. The platform will also maintain support for open-source and open-weight models from external developers, ensuring compatibility across multiple clouds, inference providers, and accelerator platforms, including hardware from other semiconductor firms.
Hugging Face to uphold open development
Founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face expanded into model hosting, datasets, developer libraries, and cloud services for AI projects. In August 2023, the company reached a valuation of $4.5 billion during a funding round that raised $235 million from tech investors. Prior to the acquisition agreement, Nvidia had collaborated with Hugging Face on projects connecting developers with Nvidia’s computing resources and software through familiar development tools.
Nvidia disclosed the agreement in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2026, noting that the acquisition is still pending and has not yet closed. The deal awaits regulatory approvals and other standard 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 companies besides Nvidia.
Expected closing in early 2027
Nvidia already has a significant role within the Hugging Face developer community, having published over 500 models and more than 250 open datasets on the platform. The company also supplies software libraries and development tools that users can modify and utilize in their own projects. Hugging Face supports developers through various AI development stages, from model discovery and testing to customization and deployment. Its infrastructure benefits companies, research institutions, and independent developers building AI applications.
The acquisition remains subject to review until all conditions are met, with Nvidia projecting a completion during the first half of 2027. Under the agreed terms, Hugging Face will continue supporting models and tools from the broader AI ecosystem. Developers will retain options for frameworks, cloud services, inference providers, and hardware. The companies are also committed to preserving Hugging Face’s multi-cloud and multi-accelerator approach post-acquisition.