The US Justice Department is asking questions about Nvidia's purchase of Hugging Face and how the deal may affect competitors, according to CNBC. Hugging Face is an open platform for sharing and testing AI models.

CNBC confirmed the inquiry with a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. Reuters first reported the inquiry on Wednesday, CNBC reports.

Nvidia announced the nearly $13 billion deal in September. At the time, chief executive Jensen Huang wrote that it would help "expand access to AI for developers and institutions worldwide."

Hugging Face is widely used. When the deal was announced, Nvidia said more than 18 million people and more than 200,000 companies used it to share at least 3 million models and 500,000 datasets, CNBC reports. Hugging Face also sells tools to groups that work with closed AI, including chip companies.

CNBC reports the deal is Nvidia's second-largest purchase. The largest was $20 billion for Groq assets late last year, a deal that has also drawn Justice Department scrutiny. CNBC compares Hugging Face's business to GitHub, which Microsoft bought in 2018 for $7.5 billion.

Nvidia declined to comment, CNBC reports. CNBC's report does not include a response from the Justice Department or Hugging Face.

An inquiry of this kind does not mean the government will try to block the deal. CNBC did not report what steps, if any, the department may take next.

What we know: The Justice Department is asking questions about the Hugging Face deal, according to CNBC.
What we don't: Only CNBC has reported this so far. NewsHabit hasn't seen independent confirmation.