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Groq Inc
Unicorn · $6.9BPalo Alto, US · Founded 2016 · 310 employees on LinkedIn · 85 known investors
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Groq designs and manufactures the LPU (Language Processing Unit), a chip purpose-built for AI inference, and operates GroqCloud, a platform for running inference workloads with low latency and cost efficiency across global data centers.
Also known as Groq Inc. · Groq, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Groq Inc was founded in 2016 by Jonathan Ross and Douglas Wightman.
Board
Investors · 85
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Also in the syndicate · 3
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$734.7M disclosed across 3 of 15 rounds · 2016–2026
▶$672.2MraisedJul 2026 · 144 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Adam WinterExecutive Officer, Director
- John YetimogluDirector
- Alexander DavisDirector
- Offering amount
- $672.2M
- Amount sold
- $672.2M
- First sale
- Jun 2026
- Incorporated
- Limited Liability Company, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$52.3MraisedSep 2018 · 16 investors · ComputersRule 506(b)
- Jonathan RossExecutive Officer, Director
- Chamath PalihapitiyaDirector
- Douglas WightmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $60.7M
- Amount sold
- $52.3M
- First sale
- Aug 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$10.3MraisedDec 2016 · 6 investors · ComputersRule 506(b)
- Douglas WightmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Jonathan RossExecutive Officer, Director
- Chamath PalihapitiyaDirector
- Offering amount
- $10.7M
- Amount sold
- $10.3M
- First sale
- Oct 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Groq is an AI infrastructure company focused on inference — the execution of trained AI models to serve users, products and agent tasks — rather than model training. The company designs and manufactures the LPU (Language Processing Unit), a chip purpose-built for AI inference, and operates GroqCloud, a platform for running inference workloads with low latency and cost efficiency across global data centers.
The company positions itself as an inference-focused cloud provider ("neocloud") and states that it pioneered the LPU. It has since introduced LPX, which the company describes as working alongside NVIDIA's next-generation GPUs to deliver inference capability at scale. Groq frames inference as an emerging capacity bottleneck as AI usage grows, and says it is building hundreds of megawatts of capacity with additional capacity planned.
Business model
Groq combines proprietary inference silicon with a cloud platform (GroqCloud) on which customers run inference workloads, operated out of data centers with capacity measured in megawatts.
Traction
Groq states it is building hundreds of megawatts of inference capacity with more planned, and announced the close of a $350 million Series A.
Latest developments
Groq announced the close of a $350 million Series A to build out its AI inference cloud, and introduced LPX as a complement to its LPU and to NVIDIA's next-generation GPUs.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, geography
Market position
Groq describes itself as an inference-focused cloud provider, differentiating from training-oriented AI infrastructure and positioning its own accelerators as working in combination with NVIDIA GPUs.
Groq's stated differentiation is purpose-built inference silicon (LPU, and subsequently LPX) intended to deliver both low latency and low cost simultaneously, rather than trading one against the other, delivered through its own cloud rather than only as hardware.
Technology
Groq's core technology is the LPU, a processor architected specifically for AI inference rather than general-purpose or training workloads, complemented by LPX, which the company describes as operating alongside NVIDIA next-generation GPUs. The stated design objective is to remove the trade-off between inference speed and cost.
Geography
Groq operates inference capacity across global data centers.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 10
Companies working in the same space as Groq Inc.
Acquisitions · 2
Early investors' stakes continue via these dealsDefinitive Intelligence was a Palo Alto AI startup building natural-language tools for querying data, including chatbots and analytics products for business intelligence.
Groq designs specialized inference hardware for AI workloads, including its LPU and LPX products, which run alongside NVIDIA GPUs to deliver large-scale AI inference. The company is building data center capacity in the hundreds of megawatts to serve inference demand at scale.
Timeline · 38
launches, deals, and filingsRound led by Dallas-based investment firm Disruptive, with Nvidia also set to invest. Proceeds partly earmarked for expanding total data center capacity beyond 200 megawatts.
$350M source ↗
Groq said it would use part of its recent financing to expand total data center capacity to more than 200 megawatts in the following year.
Round aimed at expanding data center capacity, led by existing investors Disruptive and Infinitum, both with board representation. Groq reset its valuation as part of the financing but did not disclose the figure.
$650M source ↗
A formal Senate inquiry was launched by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, alongside broader FTC scrutiny of "reverse acquihire" deal structures.
Groq announced the close of a $350 million Series A, framed by the company as supporting its build-out of an AI inference cloud.
$350M source ↗
Groq describes LPX, which works alongside NVIDIA next-generation GPUs to deliver inference capacity, in addition to the LPU the company says it pioneered.
Following the Nvidia licensing deal, Groq said it would continue as an independent company led by finance chief Simon Edwards as CEO, while founder-CEO Jonathan Ross and president Sunny Madra joined Nvidia.
Nvidia agreed to buy assets from Groq for approximately $20 billion in cash, structured as a non-exclusive licensing agreement for Groq's inference technology. Founder and CEO Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra and other senior leaders joined Nvidia. Groq said it would continue as an independent company, with GroqCloud excluded from the transaction and operating without interruption.
$20B source ↗
Following the Nvidia agreement, Groq said finance chief Simon Edwards would lead the company as CEO, while founder/CEO Jonathan Ross and president Sunny Madra joined Nvidia.
Nvidia agreed to buy assets from Groq for approximately $20 billion in cash; Groq described it as a non-exclusive licensing agreement for its inference technology. Founder and CEO Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra and other senior leaders joined Nvidia. Groq said it would continue as an independent company and that GroqCloud, excluded from the transaction, would keep operating.
$20B source ↗
Meta and Groq collaborated to deliver inference for the official Llama API.
Groq secured a US$1.5 billion commitment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to expand delivery of its LPU-based AI inference infrastructure, tied to a new GroqCloud data center in Dammam.
$1.5B source ↗
Groq secured a US$1.5 billion commitment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to expand delivery of its LPU-based AI inference infrastructure, tied to a new GroqCloud data center in Dammam.
$1.5B source ↗
Groq and Aramco Digital announced progress on building an inferencing data center in Saudi Arabia following a LEAP MOU signing.
Groq acquired Definitive Intelligence, a business-oriented AI solutions startup, to support its cloud platform.
Groq soft-launched GroqCloud, a developer platform providing API access and rented access to its chips.
Groq selected Samsung Electronics' foundry in Taylor, Texas to manufacture its next-generation chips on a 4nm process node, the first order at the new facility.
Groq acquired Maxeler Technologies, known for dataflow systems technologies; Maxeler retained its brand.
Groq received seed funding from Social Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya, a $10 million investment in 2017, followed soon after by additional funding.
$10M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Groqgroq.com · web
- Groq Valued at $3.5 Billion in Funding Round After Nvidia Deal - Bloombergbloomberg.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Groq Inc do?
- Groq builds purpose-built AI inference hardware and operates an inference cloud for running models at low latency.
- Who founded Groq Inc?
- Groq Inc was founded by Jonathan Ross, Douglas Wightman in 2016.
- Who are Groq Inc's investors?
- Groq Inc's investors include Access Ventures (New York), Acequia Capital (AceCap), Alumni Ventures, Axiom Partners, B Capital, Banca Investis — Family Office, Basecamp Fund, Beyond Capital and 74 more.
- How much funding has Groq Inc raised?
- Groq Inc has disclosed $734.7M raised across 3 of its 15 known rounds.
- Where is Groq Inc headquartered?
- Groq Inc is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.