The Justice Department asks how Nvidia's Hugging Face purchase would affect competition
The US Justice Department has been asking how Nvidia's $12.93 billion acquisition of could affect competition in AI, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing sources. The specific worry is whether owning the largest public library of open models would give Nvidia control of a main distribution channel for AI models and software.
The questions are part of a broader review of Nvidia's business. Reuters says investigators are also looking at its sales tactics, investments and past acquisitions, including whether customers were offered larger chip allocations in exchange for buying Nvidia's networking gear and Groq processors. Nvidia expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027 and says Hugging Face will keep supporting rival chips and clouds. An inquiry is not a lawsuit, and the department may take no action. SourcesBB
Sources
- BExclusive: US DOJ is inquiring about Nvidia's purchase of Hugging Face, sources say (Reuters via Investing.com)investing.com
- BNvidia faces DOJ scrutiny over $12.9 billion Hugging Face deal (Benzinga)benzinga.com
This story ran in the Morning Brief of October 29th 2026.