DOJ Probes Nvidia’s $12.9 Billion Hugging Face Acquisition

Nvidia’s ambitions to expand its AI empire are under regulatory scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an inquiry into the company’s planned $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, one of the world’s most widely used open-source AI platforms. Regulators are examining whether the deal could harm competition in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence sector.

Announced in September 2026, the deal would see Nvidia pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face stockholders, plus up to $1 billion in equity-based retention awards for employees. At the time of the announcement, Hugging Face had more than 18 million users and over 200,000 company users sharing millions of AI models and datasets.

Nvidia has said it intends to keep Hugging Face an open platform, and that users would not need Nvidia hardware to build or deploy through it.

Regulators are focusing on whether Nvidia’s ownership of a platform serving both open-source AI developers and proprietary AI companies—including rival chip firms—could create unfair competitive advantages or barriers to entry. The inquiry is part of a broader DOJ examination of Nvidia’s business practices, investment strategy, and sales tactics.

Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face has publicly commented on the investigation. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals.

Source: CNBC – Nvidia’s $12.9 billion Hugging Face deal draws DOJ scrutiny