Nvidia Buys Hugging Face for $13 Billion, Plus 9 More Big M&A Deals of the Week

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Nvidia has agreed to buy AI model platform Hugging Face for $13bn, in the latest step by the $5.4tn chip giant to use its financial might to accelerate the technology’s boom while exerting greater control over the industry.

Hugging Face, which only last year turned down a large investment from Nvidia at a $7bn valuation to maintain its independence, serves as a repository for millions of models and data sets and has become a champion of „open“ AI systems. Nvidia said the goal of the deal was to speed up the spread of open models. Unlike proprietary models from labs such as OpenAI and Anthropic, the design of open-weight models is public and users can download, customise and run them on their own hardware.

Data centre giant Vertiv acquires US microgrid specialist in $1.45bn cash deal

Vertiv has agreed to acquire UtilityInnovation Group, a US microgrid and power systems firm, for approximately $1.45 billion in cash, with additional consideration of up to $1.15 billion tied to earnings targets over the next 12 and 24 months — potentially bringing the total deal value to $2.6 billion. At the base price, the deal values UIG at roughly 13x its expected 2027 EBITDA.

UIG, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, designs microgrid controls, onsite power generation, and behind-the-meter architecture for data centers. The acquisition extends Vertiv’s portfolio upstream to the point where facilities connect to the electricity grid, addressing what CEO Gio Albertazzi called the industry’s defining competitive advantage: „how quickly they can move from site selection to first token.“ J.P. Morgan is advising Vertiv; Morgan Stanley is advising UIG. Expected to close Q4 2026.

CDW To Acquire Lovelytics For Approximately $525 Million To Expand Data And AI Services

CDW has agreed to acquire Lovelytics for approximately $525 million, expanding its Data & Analytics Practice and its ability to help customers modernize data infrastructure and deploy AI applications. Lovelytics, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has grown to more than 600 employees across the US, Canada, Argentina, and Colombia, and was the first consulting partner backed by Databricks Ventures.

CDW CEO Christine Leahy framed the deal around a core thesis: „There is no AI strategy without a data strategy.“ The acquisition is not expected to materially impact CDW’s 2026 financial results and is expected to close in Q3 2026. Lovelytics had partnered with Interlock Equity in 2023 to accelerate growth prior to this exit.

ServiceNow acquires Israeli AI startup Sweep in deal estimated at hundreds of millions

ServiceNow has acquired Israeli startup Sweep in a deal estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, extending an aggressive AI acquisition spree that now totals more than $8 billion across at least seven Israeli-linked deals. Neither company has officially confirmed the transaction or its value. Sweep had raised $46 million in disclosed funding, including a $22.5 million Series B led by Insight Partners in May 2025.

Founded in 2021, Sweep builds an „agentic workspace“ for go-to-market teams that monitors metadata across ServiceNow, Salesforce, and HubSpot to identify misalignments and generate documentation — with a newer „agentic layer“ designed to implement fixes rather than just flag them. The deal comes less than two months after ServiceNow’s acquisition of ai.work, and follows the company’s $7.75 billion purchase of Armis earlier this year. Sweep’s customers include Brex, LG Electronics, and NBC Sports.

Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console, sources say

Palo Alto Networks paid $500 million in cash and stock to acquire Console, a two-year-old startup using AI agents to automate IT help desk tasks, according to two sources familiar with the deal — though official terms were not disclosed. Console had raised $29 million and was valued at $157 million before the sale, per PitchBook, with backers including Thrive Capital, DST Global, and angel investor (and Palo Alto Networks CEO) Nikesh Arora.

The deal is Palo Alto Networks’ seventh acquisition in 2026, following the $3.35 billion purchase of Chronosphere and $400 million acquisition of Koi. Console will be integrated into Cortex, Palo Alto’s AI-driven threat detection platform, leaving Sequoia-backed Serval — now valued at $1 billion — as the remaining category leader among AI IT service automation startups.

Aquiline to take controlling stake in wealthtech platform Flourish

Aquiline has entered a definitive agreement to invest in Flourish, the wealthtech platform currently owned by MassMutual that provides registered investment advisors with private-bank-like cash management and lending tools. Following the deal’s expected Q4 2026 close, Aquiline will hold a controlling interest while MassMutual retains a significant stake. Terms were not disclosed; MassMutual originally acquired Flourish from Stone Ridge in 2021 for just $6 million.

Flourish serves as a growth engine for more than 1,300 RIAs and has grown assets under custody in its cash-management solution from $1 billion to $8 billion over five years. Industry veteran David Canter, formerly head of Fidelity’s RIA and family office businesses, will join as incoming executive chairman — signaling Aquiline’s intent to accelerate Flourish’s product roadmap for the independent advisor channel.

Adobe acquires Indian market intelligence startup Rilo

Adobe has acquired India-based marketing intelligence startup Rilo in a deal involving licensing and team acquisition — its second known acquisition of an Indian company after 2023’s Rephrase.ai purchase. Terms were not disclosed. Founded in September 2025 by IIT Bombay batchmates Dhruv Jaglan and Georgi Boby, Rilo crossed 10,000 users within months and was backed by Peak XV Partners and Z47/DeVC at a reported $10 million valuation.

Rilo’s technology lets non-technical users describe complex workflows in plain English, which AI agents then build and execute across marketing tools — including competitive intelligence, prospecting, and campaign research. The acquisition comes shortly after Adobe’s $1.9 billion purchase of Semrush, reinforcing a broader push into agentic marketing automation for enterprise customers.

Britain’s Gamma Communications agrees to $1.5 billion takeover by Epiris

Gamma Communications has agreed to a takeover by private equity firm Epiris valuing the British telecom firm at £1.08 billion ($1.46 billion) including debt, capping a four-month bidding war that also drew Providence Equity Partners and an Oakley Capital consortium. Shareholders will receive 1,120 pence per share — a 53% premium to the pre-talks share price.

Gamma provides business-critical communications technology across Europe, powering the voice infrastructure behind O2 Daisy and serving more than 1,500 resellers and MSPs across four European markets. Epiris said private ownership will let Gamma invest more heavily in product development and AI adoption. The deal — the largest UK telecoms transaction this year — is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

SLB expands data center business with $4.1 billion Kelvion acquisition

SLB has agreed to acquire thermal management provider Kelvion in a $4.1 billion deal, significantly expanding its data center infrastructure business as surging AI investment drives demand for cooling, power, and integrated facility solutions. SLB will pay approximately $3.4 billion in cash and assume about $700 million in debt to acquire Kelvion from majority owner Apollo-managed funds and minority shareholder Triton, with closing expected in the first half of 2027.

Kelvion is projected to generate $2.3-2.4 billion in 2026 revenue, including $1.2-1.3 billion from data centers — its largest and fastest-growing segment. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch called AI „the most significant infrastructure investment cycle in our lifetime.“ The combined data center business is targeted to reach $4.5-5 billion in revenue and $700-800 million in adjusted EBITDA by 2028, with approximately $120 million in annual EBITDA synergies expected within three years — marking one of the clearest signals yet of legacy energy services firms repositioning around AI infrastructure demand.

Telecentro reportedly agrees to buy iPlan for US$260mn in Argentina

Argentine telecom operator Telecentro has agreed to acquire fiber and enterprise connectivity provider iPlan for approximately $260 million, financed by a five-year syndicated peso loan from ICBC, Banco Galicia, and Banco Santander. The deal follows Telecom’s $1.245 billion acquisition of Telefónica Argentina in early 2025, continuing the reshaping of Argentina’s telecom competitive landscape.

Telecentro — with 35 years in the market and infrastructure reaching more than 6 million homes — gains iPlan’s enterprise portfolio spanning dedicated connectivity, data centers, cloud storage, and cybersecurity, plus operational presence in cities like Córdoba, Rosario, and Tucumán. JP Morgan advised the sellers; F&G Advisors advised Telecentro.

About the author: Ben Boissevain [in] [𝕏] is the founder of Ascento Capital Invest (www.techbanking.com), a boutique investment bank providing M&A, capital raise and valuation advisory to technology companies in the U.S. and internationally. He compiles the weekly Top Ten Tech M&A Transactions list and is a contributor to TechCrunch.