Nvidia and Hugging Face could finalize their acquisition negotiations, according to Bloomberg, this week with a total volume of around $14 billion. This is about $1 billion more than the previously reported purchase price of $12.9 billion, as an additional retention bonus for Hugging Face employees is planned. A signed agreement is still not in place, and details may still change.
Bloomberg estimates the total value of the acquisition for the first time at around $14 billion instead of $12.9 billion.
About $1 billion of that is to be paid as a retention bonus to Hugging Face employees.
A signature is reportedly possible in the coming days, but not guaranteed.
Hugging Face rejected a Nvidia offer of $500 million from 2025.
Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face have publicly commented on the figures so far.
A completion would give Nvidia control over the most used open-source platform for AI models.
Nvidia and Hugging Face could apparently sign their billion-dollar deal, which has been under negotiation since the end of August, in the coming days. The total value of the acquisition is now estimated at around 14 billion dollars, according to Bloomberg – more than one billion dollars higher than the previously reported purchase price of 12.9 billion dollars. The difference is said to be a retention bonus for Hugging Face employees.
Retention bonus drives total value to 14 billion
The news service cites sources familiar with the matter and reports that an agreement based on the already known 12.9 billion dollars could be reached this week. Together with a retention bonus of around one billion dollars for Hugging Face employees, this results in the now mentioned total volume of nearly 14 billion dollars. The financial service Investing.com picked up the report and independently confirmed the magnitude of the bonus. How the sum will be distributed among individual employees has not been independently verified; such bonuses typically retain key personnel after acquisitions over several years. Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face have officially confirmed the figures so far, and according to the report, conditions and timing could still change.
As early as the end of August, The Information reported a purchase price of 12.9 billion dollars, after Hugging Face had previously considered a sale at a valuation of at least 13 billion dollars. The now reported total value is thus close to this original estimate despite the additional bonus.
Negotiations date back to 2025
As beckmann.ai reported at the end of August, Nvidia initially offered 12.9 billion dollars – almost three times Hugging Face’s last official valuation of 4.5 billion dollars from 2023. The chip manufacturer had already faced a setback: In mid-2025, Hugging Face rejected an investment of 500 million dollars at a valuation of seven billion dollars, as co-founder Clément Delangue feared the influence of a single investor. The total price now being negotiated is thus about twice as high as the previous valuation. Delangue has since publicly advocated for closer collaboration between chip manufacturers and open models and, together with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, signed an open letter in the summer calling on the US government to promote open AI models. A signed contract would give Nvidia control over what it claims is the most used platform for open AI models and datasets.
It will be crucial whether Nvidia and Hugging Face actually sign the agreement this week or if the talks will be delayed again, as they have in recent days. If the contract is concluded, given Nvidia’s market power in AI chips, an antitrust review by US authorities is likely to follow – the duration of which will also determine when the acquisition is actually completed.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Nvidia acquisition of Hugging Face been officially confirmed yet?
No. Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face have officially confirmed the figures mentioned by Bloomberg. According to the report, a signed agreement could be in place as early as this week.
Why is the total value now at $14 billion instead of $12.9 billion?
Because an approximately $1 billion retention bonus for Hugging Face employees is added to the originally reported purchase price, which is reportedly part of the agreement according to Bloomberg.
What is a retention bonus in this context?
This refers to payments intended to keep key personnel in the company over several years after an acquisition. Details on the exact distribution at Hugging Face are not yet known.
Does the deal need to be reviewed by antitrust authorities?
Public statements on this are currently lacking. Due to Nvidia's market power in AI chips, a review by US antitrust authorities after a signature is considered likely.
Where can the previous course of the acquisition be read?
In the ongoing [dossier on the Hugging Face sale](https://beckmann.ai/en/dossier/hugging-face-verkauf), which compiles all stages from the initial sale review to the current figures.
Brian Beckmann: “Nvidia approaches $14 billion acquisition of Hugging Face.” Beckmann, September 2, 2026, https://beckmann.ai/en/ai-economy/2026-09/nvidia-hugging-face-14-billion.
