DOJ queries Hugging Face deal

AI & tech · Heat 6.6 / 10 · 2 shows · 9m airtime

Reuters reported on October 29, 2026 that the Department of Justice has queried Nvidia's $13 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, asking whether ownership would give it control of a key distribution point for AI models. Sources say the antitrust investigation predates the Grok deal and extends beyond it, covering SketchMD, RunAI, venture investments and customer pressure. No charges have been filed, and the deal's fate remains open.

How 2 podcasts covered it

1. The AI Daily Brief, 2026-10-29 (9:48 to 11:49)
   Reports the probe now covers Hugging Face
   Reports the Reuters disclosure that DOJ questioning now covers the Hugging Face purchase, SketchMD, RunAI, venture investments and customer pressure, recasting what looked like a narrow Grok acqui-hire probe as a top-to-bottom antitrust investigation of Nvidia.
   New angle: Sources say the DOJ probe predates the Grok deal and covers SketchMD, RunAI, venture investments and customer pressure.
2. Pivot, 2026-10-30 (43:10 to 49:59)
   Flags DOJ inquiry inside circular-deals rundown
   Runs through Nvidia's circular deals - $3 billion into Meta's roughly $100 billion raise, AMD's $1 billion - and flags the DOJ's Hugging Face inquiry as one more thing hanging over the company. The antitrust thread is a passing mention inside a broader circular-financing argument.