The United States Department of Justice reportedly is questioning Nvidia regarding its agreement to purchase Hugging Face for nearly $13 billion, citing potential impacts on competition within the artificial intelligence sector. Hugging Face provides an open-source platform utilized for the hosting and testing of various AI models, which appears to be the focus of the DOJ's inquiries into how the deal might alter the competitive landscape for Nvidia's rivals. The move could be interpreted as a strategy for Nvidia to secure a primary distribution channel for its own products, especially since Hugging Face also sells AI infrastructure. Nvidia declined to comment on the report.
The scrutiny on Nvidia from the U.S. government is not new, with the company facing increasing examination as AI technologies become more central to the tech industry. Previously, the Trump administration reportedly considered breaking up the company. More recently, Nvidia and other AI hardware manufacturers have been subject to export controls, restricting the sale of Nvidia's powerful AI-focused hardware to countries including China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
Separately, the DOJ has investigated Nvidia's purchase of SchedMD, a company whose software supports supercomputers with national security ties. As part of a larger three-year investigation into Nvidia's conduct, the company promised to continue supporting the SchedMD software. Officials also examined whether Nvidia potentially favored customers who bought its networking hardware and Groq chips by offering a larger allocation of its AI chips. Nvidia confirmed that following the buyout, it will continue to support a range of chip and AI providers. Hugging Face is expected to officially become part of Nvidia in the first half of 2027.
