SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Nvidia has finalized a definitive agreement to acquire Hugging Face, with the deal valued at approximately $12.93 billion. The agreement was signed on September 2, 2026. Nvidia will distribute around $11.9 billion to Hugging Face shareholders, subject to standard adjustments. The deal also includes up to about $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for eligible employees. Nvidia anticipates the transaction to close in the first half of 2027, pending necessary approvals and closing conditions.
Hugging Face runs a popular platform for AI models, datasets, applications, and developer tools. Nvidia states that more than 18 million developers, researchers, and creators actively use the platform. It hosts over 3 million AI models and roughly 500,000 datasets, supporting more than 1 million applications. Additionally, over 200,000 companies rely on Hugging Face for tasks like model discovery, testing, customization, and deployment across various computing environments.
Hugging Face will continue to support developers utilizing different models, frameworks, cloud providers, and computing platforms. Nvidia clarified that its hardware will not become a prerequisite for using the platform. The platform will also keep hosting open-source and open-weight models from multiple developers and organizations. Support for diverse clouds and accelerator technologies will remain available, and Nvidia has pledged to maintain compatibility with silicon products from companies other than Nvidia even after the deal concludes.
Access to the platform will stay open across various hardware options
Hugging Face was founded in 2016 by Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf. Over time, the company expanded from providing software tools into hosting models, datasets, applications, and cloud-based AI development services. During an August 2023 funding round that raised $235 million, Hugging Face was valued at $4.5 billion. Nvidia had an existing partnership with the company prior to the acquisition agreement, which included projects connecting 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 indicates that the acquisition is still pending and lists conditions that must be fulfilled before closing. These include regulatory approvals and customary closing procedures. Nvidia also detailed commitments for Hugging Face post-closing, such as ongoing access to models and datasets, multi-cloud support, and compatibility with hardware from other semiconductor manufacturers.
The acquisition awaits regulatory approval
Nvidia already offers a substantial collection of AI resources through Hugging Face, claiming to have published more than 500 models and over 250 open datasets there. The company also provides software libraries and development tools for users to adapt for their projects. Hugging Face serves a broad range of clients, including companies, researchers, and independent developers, across various stages of AI development—such as model discovery, performance evaluation, customization, and deployment of AI applications.
The completion of Nvidia’s acquisition of Hugging Face hinges on meeting all required conditions and obtaining necessary approvals. Nvidia projects the deal will close in the first half of 2027. Under the agreed commitments, Hugging Face will continue supporting multiple clouds, frameworks, inference providers, and computing platforms. Developers will also maintain access to hardware options beyond Nvidia products. Until the transaction is finalized, Nvidia and Hugging Face will operate independently under the terms of the signed agreement.