Story
August 27, 2026
Nvidia’s $13 Billion Hugging Face Bet Is Still Hanging in the Balance
Reports say Nvidia could be nearing a blockbuster purchase of Hugging Face, tightening its reach across open-source AI and cloud computing. But the central question remains whether the talks have actually produced a signed deal.
A $13 billion takeover of Hugging Face would hand Nvidia a prized gateway into open-source AI just as rivals try to loosen the chipmaker’s grip. Yet the reported deal remains suspended between a claimed finish line and negotiations that may still unravel.
The speculation began with reports that Hugging Face, the 2016-founded platform where developers share models, datasets and benchmarks, was entertaining takeover interest. One account framed the subsequent report with unusual caution: Nvidia was reportedly buying the company for nearly $13 billion, but both that report and an earlier account of ongoing talks relied on a single anonymous source.1
By Wednesday night, the accounts had split. The Information, as relayed by TechCrunch, said Nvidia had agreed to pay $12.9 billion. Business Insider’s version, however, said no agreement had been signed and the talks could “still atomize.”2 Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face had publicly resolved the contradiction.
The strategic case is clear whichever account proves right. Hugging Face’s open-model ecosystem gives developers an alternative to closed systems from OpenAI and Anthropic, while still generally requiring the kind of computing infrastructure dominated by Nvidia GPUs. A purchase could therefore defend Nvidia’s core chip business as OpenAI, Google, Amazon and Anthropic develop more hardware of their own.3
It could also reopen a cloud-computing lane for Nvidia. Hugging Face already helps customers run models on rented compute, potentially giving Nvidia a channel for unused capacity tied to the vast cloud commitments it has backed. For Hugging Face, the price would be a dramatic leap from its $4.5 billion valuation in 2023—and a notable reversal after it reportedly rejected a $500 million Nvidia investment that would have valued it at $7 billion.
The political alignment is equally striking. Chief executive Clem Delangue and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang have joined calls for Washington to support open models rather than restrict them. A merger would turn that shared campaign into a far tighter corporate alliance—if the deal is real.