DOJ Questions NVIDIA's $12.93 Billion Hugging Face Deal

Oct 28, 2026
The US Department of Justice is examining how NVIDIA's planned $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face could affect competition in artificial intelligence.

The U.S. Department of Justice is examining how NVIDIA's planned $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face could affect competition in artificial intelligence, Reuters reports. Officials have asked whether owning the model sharing platform could let NVIDIA harm rivals or gain influence over a key distribution channel for AI models.

The inquiries are part of a broader antitrust investigation into NVIDIA's acquisitions, investments and sales practices. Officials have also examined its purchases of SchedMD and Run:ai, along with its 2025 agreement to license Groq technology and hire Groq engineers.

NVIDIA agreed to acquire Hugging Face in September for about $11.9 billion, with up to $1 billion in equity based retention awards for employees joining NVIDIA. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval. NVIDIA committed to keep Hugging Face open to models, datasets and chips from other providers.

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