Nvidia has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, marking one of the largest deals in the AI sector. The announcement was made Thursday, with Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang saying Hugging Face has become a major hub for AI developers worldwide.

The acquisition underscores the intensifying competition among technology companies to control key AI infrastructure and developer platforms. Hugging Face, which operates as an open source platform for machine learning models, has grown rapidly since its founding and hosts hundreds of thousands of AI models used by developers globally.

For Dubai, the deal has significant implications for the emirate’s growing AI ecosystem. Dubai has invested heavily in artificial intelligence as part of its economic diversification strategy, with government initiatives promoting AI adoption across sectors including healthcare, transportation and financial services.

The acquisition reflects a broader consolidation trend in the AI industry, where major chipmakers and cloud providers are acquiring platforms that serve developer communities. Nvidia, whose GPUs power much of the world’s AI computing, has been expanding beyond hardware into software and developer tools.

Hugging Face will remain an open source platform following the acquisition, Nvidia confirmed. The deal is expected to close pending regulatory approvals.

The transaction also highlights the growing convergence between AI hardware and software ecosystems. Dubai-based technology companies and startups that rely on open source AI models may see changes in how these tools are accessed and monetized under Nvidia’s ownership.

AI investment in the UAE has accelerated in recent months, with Dubai positioning itself as a regional hub for artificial intelligence innovation. The emirate’s AI strategy aims to make the government fully AI-enabled by 2031, and private sector adoption continues to grow across finance, logistics and real estate.

The Nvidia-Hugging Face deal represents a milestone in the maturation of the AI industry, where infrastructure platforms are increasingly becoming acquisition targets as major technology companies seek to consolidate their positions in the rapidly evolving market.