Justice Department reportedly probing Nvidia's $12.9 billion Hugging Face acquisition

Nvidia's planned $12.9 billion purchase of Hugging Face, the open-source AI model platform, is reportedly drawing scrutiny from the US Department of Justice. According to the reporting, the inquiry covers Nvidia's acquisitions, investments and sales practices, including whether it pressured customers, and asks whether the deal could give Nvidia control over a basic AI distribution channel that would let it disadvantage rivals. The DOJ has also reportedly reviewed Nvidia's December 2025 purchase of SchedMD. The deal would be among Nvidia's largest acquisitions, second only to a reported $20 billion Groq transaction. For holders, the item adds regulatory uncertainty around the company's acquisition strategy in AI software and open models.

1. Reported DOJ scrutiny of the planned $12.93 billion Hugging Face acquisition, first announced in August 2026.
2. The inquiry reportedly covers acquisitions, investments and sales practices, including alleged customer pressure.
3. The DOJ reportedly also reviewed the December 2025 acquisition of SchedMD, an open-source supercomputing software supplier.
4. The reporting attributes the account to Reuters; the Benzinga write-up is dated October 29, 2026.
5. Nvidia's reported $20 billion Groq deal would rank above the Hugging Face transaction by size.