SAN FRANCISCO — Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face, the open-source artificial intelligence platform, for approximately $12.9 billion, according to The Information as reported by Reuters.

The potential acquisition would mark a significant expansion of Nvidia's role in the U.S. artificial intelligence industry. Hugging Face has become a major destination for developers and researchers working with open-source AI models, datasets and machine-learning tools.

For Nvidia, the deal could strengthen its position across the AI technology stack. The company is best known for its powerful AI chips used in data centers, but it has increasingly invested in software, AI infrastructure and developer ecosystems.

The acquisition also highlights the growing strategic value of open-source AI. As technology companies compete to build increasingly capable AI systems, access to developers, models and software tools has become almost as important as access to computing hardware.

A $12.9 billion acquisition would make Hugging Face one of the most significant AI-platform deals in recent years and could reshape competition across America's rapidly developing AI ecosystem.

The move comes during a period of intense investment in artificial intelligence, with U.S. technology companies racing to secure computing capacity, AI talent and platforms capable of supporting the next generation of AI applications.