Nvidia Acquires Hugging Face in Landmark $13B Deal, Aiming to Rule the AI Ecosystem
In a landmark deal of 2026, Nvidia is set to acquire the open-source AI platform, Hugging Face. The deal, worth an estimated $12.93 billion, will significantly broaden Nvidia’s influence beyond hardware, delving deeper into the software and model layer of the AI stack.
The announcement made on September 3, 2026, also includes an additional $1 billion equity-based retention program for Hugging Face employees transitioning to Nvidia. The completion of the transaction is projected for the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Hugging Face currently boasts more than 3 million AI models, serves an impressive 18 million developers and researchers, and has over 200,000 enterprise customers.
Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, stated in a blog post that the acquisition aims to “expand access to AI for developers and institutions worldwide.” He further assured that Hugging Face will maintain its open platform status, continuing to support multi-cloud and multi-accelerator environments. This news propelled Nvidia’s stock up by approximately 2–4%, nearing record highs. Analysts interpret this deal as Nvidia’s strategic move to dominate the entire AI stack — from energy infrastructure to foundational models and applications — amid escalating competition from custom chip rivals.
Source: CNBC – Hugging Face approached Nvidia’s Huang weeks ahead of $12.9B acquisition