RismadarVoice Reporters
September 3, 2026
Nvidia has announced plans to acquire artificial intelligence developer platform Hugging Face in a deal valued at about $12.93 billion, as the chipmaker strengthens its position in the rapidly growing market for open artificial intelligence models.
The agreement, one of Nvidia’s largest acquisitions, will see the company pay approximately $11.9 billion to Hugging Face investors, alongside an equity-based retention programme worth up to $1 billion for employees who join Nvidia.
Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said Hugging Face would remain an open platform for developers and users, adding that the platform would not require Nvidia’s chips for building or deploying artificial intelligence models.
The acquisition is expected to give Nvidia greater influence in the open AI ecosystem, where developers can freely download, modify and deploy artificial intelligence models, unlike closed systems operated by companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Hugging Face provides a platform where developers collaborate, test and share AI models, datasets and software tools. Nvidia said gaining access to the platform would help it better understand developer needs and strengthen its position in the global AI competition.
The demand for open-weight AI models has increased as businesses seek lower-cost alternatives for deploying artificial intelligence technologies. Companies in China, including DeepSeek and Z.ai, have emerged as major players by developing models capable of competing with leading U.S. systems in areas such as computer programming.
“Hugging Face will remain an open platform for the entire AI ecosystem,” Huang said, according to Reuters.
The deal comes as Nvidia continues to benefit from the global artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. The company reported holding $22.44 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of its July quarter, giving it significant financial capacity for major investments.
However, Nvidia’s aggressive expansion into AI infrastructure and related partnerships has attracted scrutiny from investors concerned about the company’s role in supporting the demand that has driven its rapid growth.
The acquisition also comes as major technology companies, including Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft, continue developing their own AI chips in an effort to reduce dependence on Nvidia’s processors.
Hugging Face, founded in 2016 by French entrepreneurs Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond and Thomas Wolf, was last valued at $4.5 billion during its 2023 funding round, which attracted investment from companies including Salesforce, AMD and Amazon.
The transaction is expected to further position Nvidia as a central player in the development and distribution of artificial intelligence technologies worldwide.
