US DOJ Reviews Nvidia's $12.93 Billion Acquisition of Hugging Face
The US Department of Justice is reviewing Nvidia's $12.93 billion acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face over potential antitrust concerns and market dominance.
Nvidia is facing a fresh regulatory hurdle as the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reviews its $12.93 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face over antitrust concerns.
The deal, announced last September and slated to close in the first half of 2027, ranks among the largest acquisitions in Nvidia's history. Antitrust regulators are scrutinizing whether the takeover will grant the dominant chipmaker an unfair advantage across the broader artificial intelligence ecosystem.
Why Hugging Face Matters
Hugging Face serves as a central global hub for developing, sharing, and deploying artificial intelligence models. At the time of the announcement, Nvidia reported that over 18 million users and approximately 200,000 companies rely on the platform, which hosts millions of models and hundreds of thousands of datasets.
By acquiring the platform, Nvidia is absorbing a critical meeting point for the global AI developer community rather than just a software firm. Regulators are examining whether controlling this distribution channel could allow Nvidia to favor its own hardware, disadvantage rivals, or exert commercial pressure on clients.
Expanding Antitrust Scrutiny
The ongoing review forms part of a broader antitrust investigation into Nvidia that began under the Biden administration and continues under the Trump administration.
According to media reports, authorities are also investigating previous corporate transactions, including the acquisitions of Run and SchedMD, alongside an arrangement where Nvidia licensed Groq technology and hired its engineering staff. Regulators are assessing whether Nvidia prioritized AI chip allocation for customers who also purchased complementary networking equipment.
Nvidia declined to comment on the reports. The company previously emphasized that Hugging Face will continue supporting a diverse range of chip suppliers, cloud services, and AI technologies.
