Nvidia has reportedly agreed to acquire Hugging Face, a leading platform for open-source artificial intelligence models, in a deal valued at approximately $12.9 billion, or around ₹1.23 lakh crore. The development was first reported by The Information, citing a person familiar with the agreement. If completed, the acquisition would rank among Nvidia’s largest deals and mark a major expansion of the chipmaker’s role in the AI ecosystem. Hugging Face hosts a large collection of open-source AI models, datasets and developer tools used by researchers and developers around the world. The deal would allow Nvidia to move further beyond its core business of supplying graphics processing units (GPUs) used to train and run AI systems.

By gaining control of Hugging Face, Nvidia would have a stronger presence in the software and developer layer of artificial intelligence, where models are discovered, shared, tested and deployed. The acquisition also comes at a time when competition across the AI industry is intensifying. Companies including OpenAI and Anthropic are working on their own AI chips to reduce their dependence on Nvidia hardware. Bringing Hugging Face into its ecosystem could therefore strengthen Nvidia’s position as developers increasingly rely on open-source AI models. Hugging Face has grown rapidly since its founding and is often compared with GitHub because of its role as a collaborative platform for AI developers. The company was valued at $4.5 billion in a 2023 funding round, in which Nvidia was among the investors alongside companies including Google and Salesforce. The reported acquisition price represents a significant jump from that valuation. Earlier this year, Hugging Face had reportedly rejected a $500 million investment offer from Nvidia that would have valued the company at around $7 billion.

The latest development also comes as Nvidia continues to make major investments across the artificial intelligence sector. The company has forecast strong revenue growth and said it has $18 billion committed to equity investments through fiscal 2027, highlighting its confidence in continued demand for AI technology. However, reports about the transaction have carried some uncertainty. While The Information reported that Nvidia had agreed to the acquisition, other reports have noted that the deal had been under discussion and had not yet been formally finalised. Nvidia and Hugging Face had not immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment. If completed, the transaction could reshape the relationship between AI hardware and open-source software, giving Nvidia a much larger role in the tools and models used by developers building the next generation of AI applications.