- Nvidia confirmed it will acquire open-weight AI platform Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2027.
- Hugging Face serves more than 18 million developers, researchers and creators, hosts over 3 million models and is used by more than 200,000 companies.
- Nvidia says Hugging Face will remain an open platform and continue supporting open-weight and open-source AI models following the acquisition.
Nvidia has confirmed plans to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, marking another major expansion beyond its core AI chip business.
The announcement sent Nvidia shares more than 1% higher in early Thursday trading, with the stock gaining close to 2% during the first hour of the session.
Hugging Face has become one of the largest platforms for developing and distributing AI models. More than 18 million developers, researchers and creators use the platform to share over 3 million models, while more than 200,000 companies use it to discover and deploy AI technology.
The acquisition is expected to close during the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
Hugging Face Will Remain an Open AI Platform
Nvidia said Hugging Face will continue operating as an open platform for the broader AI ecosystem after the acquisition.
The company also plans to continue supporting open-weight and open-source models rather than restricting Hugging Face to Nvidia technology.
Nvidia enterprise computing general manager Justin Boitano said maintaining choice across hardware, cloud providers and other infrastructure will be important for continuing to grow Hugging Face’s developer community.
Nvidia could still benefit as more AI models are trained and deployed using its hardware.
CEO Jensen Huang said open models can accelerate innovation, strengthen cybersecurity and give developers, companies, universities and countries greater ability to build and customize AI systems.
Nvidia Expands Beyond AI Chips
The acquisition represents another step in Nvidia’s effort to become the underlying platform for the wider AI industry rather than remaining primarily a semiconductor supplier.
BD8 CEO and Nvidia investor Barbara Doran described the acquisition as a strategic move that could help prepare Nvidia for a future when extraordinary demand for AI chips eventually slows.
The $12.93 billion purchase also represents a relatively small portion of Nvidia’s expected financial capacity. Nvidia’s free cash flow is projected to approach $200 billion for fiscal 2027.
Nvidia Builds Out Its AI Ecosystem
Nvidia has increasingly positioned its combination of GPUs, CUDA software and developer infrastructure as a full-stack platform capable of supporting AI throughout its lifecycle.
Huang recently described the strategy as creating one platform capable of supporting different AI models and workloads globally.
CFRA Research equity analyst Angelo Zino said the Hugging Face acquisition is less about immediate financial returns and more about expanding Nvidia’s influence throughout the AI ecosystem.
As Hugging Face’s developer network grows, Nvidia could gain another major channel through which AI models are developed, trained and deployed.
That could ultimately reinforce demand for Nvidia’s hardware and software while pushing the company deeper into the infrastructure surrounding the global AI industry.
