The US Department of Justice has made inquiries about how Nvidia’s $12.93 billion deal to buy open-source platform Hugging Face would affect competition in artificial intelligence, at the same time as antitrust enforcers pursue their years-long investigation into the chip designer’s conduct, two people familiar with the matter said.

The Justice Department’s recent questioning covers Nvidia’s acquisitions, investments, sales practices, and whether the chip designer has exerted pressure on its customers, the two people said. On Hugging Face, Justice Department officials have asked whether the deal would let Nvidia capture a fundamental distribution point for AI, the people said. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2027, Nvidia has said, adding that Hugging Face would continue to support work with a range of chip, cloud and AI providers.

The department’s questions around the Hugging Face deal and details of its continued pursuit of Nvidia’s conduct more broadly are reported for the first time here. Nvidia has become a cornerstone of the tech economy and AI boom, backing major players such as Anthropic and OpenAI while spurring data center development globally so its chips can power AI’s voracious computing needs.

Any action by the DOJ could ripple through the chip industry and challenge Nvidia’s investing and acquisition strategy that has extended its influence in AI. Government investigations are not evidence of wrongdoing and do not necessarily result in lawsuits.

A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on any matters before the department, citing longstanding policy.

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