US Justice Department Probes NVIDIA's $12.9B Hugging Face Deal

According to Reuters, two sources say the US Department of Justice is looking into NVIDIA's $12.93 billion deal to buy open-source platform Hugging Face, checking how it may affect competition in AI. An antitrust probe into the chip designer has been going on for years. The inquiry covers NVIDIA's mergers, investments, sales model, and whether it pressured customers. Officials are focused on whether the deal would let NVIDIA control a key AI distribution hub. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, and NVIDIA has promised Hugging Face will stay open. The Justice Department also reviewed NVIDIA's purchase of SchedMD, whose open-source software runs supercomputers tied to national security. Any action could shake the whole chip industry, but starting a probe does not mean there is wrongdoing or that a lawsuit will follow.