US Justice Department Asks Whether Nvidia’s Hugging Face Deal Would Tighten Its Grip on AI

October 29 — According to Reuters, two people familiar with the matter say the US Department of Justice has begun asking how Nvidia’s $12.93 billion acquisition of the open-source platform Hugging Face would affect competition across the AI industry, as antitrust enforcers continue a multi-year investigation into the chip designer’s conduct.

The sources say the recent DOJ inquiries cover Nvidia’s mergers, outside investments and sales practices, and whether the company has pressured its customers. On the Hugging Face deal, officials are focused on whether the acquisition would give Nvidia control of a central distribution hub for the AI industry.

Nvidia has said the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, stressing that Hugging Face will stay open and continue to support ecosystems across chips, cloud services and AI vendors.

Any DOJ action could ripple across the chip industry and challenge Nvidia’s strategy of using investments and acquisitions to extend its influence in AI. But opening an investigation does not itself mean wrongdoing, nor does it necessarily lead to a lawsuit.

A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on any matter under review, citing long-standing policy. Nvidia declined to comment, and representatives for Hugging Face did not respond to a request for comment.

One of the sources says the DOJ also reviewed Nvidia’s acquisition of SchedMD as part of the investigation. That December 2025 deal raised concerns among AI experts about access to SchedMD’s open-source software, which runs supercomputers tied to national security. Nvidia has pledged to keep access open and to keep supporting the software.