The US Justice Department is asking how Nvidia's $12.9B purchase of Hugging Face would affect competition in AI, including whether it would hand Nvidia a key distribution point for models. The questions run alongside a years-long probe into Nvidia's conduct.

The US Justice Department is asking how Nvidia's $12.9B purchase of Hugging Face would affect competition in AI, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Officials want to know whether the deal would let Nvidia “capture a fundamental distribution point for AI,” Reuters said. They also want to know if Nvidia could use Hugging Face to hurt rivals.

Hugging Face is where developers share open AI models and data for anyone to use. Nvidia agreed to buy it in September, promising to keep the platform open. It expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027.

The DOJ declined to comment, citing long-standing policy. But it said it “will continue to prioritize advancement of Super Intelligence,” the White House's term for AI. Nvidia declined to comment, and Hugging Face did not respond.

The questions run alongside a years-long DOJ probe into Nvidia's conduct, which began under President Joe Biden. It covers the chipmaker's deals, its stakes in other firms and how it sells chips, including whether it put pressure on buyers. Nvidia also faces an antitrust probe in France.

Last month, the DOJ was reported to be examining whether Nvidia set up its $20B Groq deal to avoid a merger review. Nvidia licensed Groq's technology and hired its top executives rather than buying the company.

Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, has used its grip on AI chips to move into software and models. It is also in talks with Reflection AI, a maker of open AI models it already backs, about a takeover or a bigger investment.