12:05Machine-translated from Azerbaijani by AIRead in Azerbaijani
US Probes Nvidia’s Acquisition of Hugging Face AI Platform
The US Department of Justice is investigating how Nvidia’s planned acquisition of the Hugging Face platform could affect competition in the artificial intelligence market. In September, the company agreed to pay approximately $13 billion (approximately AZN 22.1 billion) for the acquisition. The department has asked questions about the deal’s impact on competitors and customers. No formal charges have been filed so far, and no decision has been made to block the acquisition.
Hugging Face is an open-source platform where new artificial intelligence models can be hosted and tested. The platform also sells infrastructure for artificial intelligence systems and works with chips from various manufacturers. The department’s main concern is that this important distribution channel could come under Nvidia’s control. If that happens, competitors could face difficulties accessing the platform, while Nvidia could favor its own products.
Nvidia has said that after the acquisition is completed, it will continue to support various chip manufacturers and artificial intelligence services on the Hugging Face platform. Whether the platform will remain open to independent companies is one of the investigation’s main issues. If the deal proceeds as planned, Hugging Face will officially become part of Nvidia in the first half of 2027. It is not yet known whether the department’s investigation will affect that timeline.
This is not the first competition investigation Nvidia has faced in the US. The Department of Justice also reviewed the acquisition of SchedMD, a company that develops software for managing supercomputers and has ties to the national security sector. Nvidia promised to continue supporting that software. The matter has become part of a broader three-year investigation into the company.
Officials have also investigated whether Nvidia allocated more artificial intelligence chips to customers that purchased networking equipment and Groq chips. Nvidia acquired Groq for $20 billion (approximately AZN 34 billion) in December 2025. The deal included key employees, including the new company’s CEO. Restrictions were also imposed on sales of the company’s artificial intelligence hardware to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.