{
  "data_version": "1",
  "schema": "https://whatledto.com/data",
  "id": "groq",
  "name": "Groq",
  "kind": "company",
  "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/groq",
  "description": "",
  "same_as": [],
  "timelines": [
    {
      "slug": "nvidia-acquisitions",
      "title": "Nvidia's Dealmaking: From Mellanox and the Failed Arm Bid to Groq and Hugging Face",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/nvidia-acquisitions",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/events/nvidia-acquisitions.json",
      "role": "AI inference-chip company that licensed technology to Nvidia and lost key executives and staff to Nvidia in a roughly $20 billion licence-plus-hire deal; it remains nominally independent.",
      "entries": 4,
      "updated_at": "2026-10-14T04:57:05.710223+00:00"
    }
  ],
  "entries": [
    {
      "timeline": "nvidia-acquisitions",
      "id": 2075,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/nvidia-acquisitions#n2075",
      "date": "2026-10-05",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Groq calls lawsuit over Nvidia transaction meritless",
      "summary": "A Groq spokesperson called the lawsuit challenging the company's transaction with NVIDIA meritless. Groq said it would vigorously defend itself against the case.",
      "type": "response",
      "entities": [
        "Groq",
        "Nvidia",
        "Benjamin Serebrin",
        "Joshua Rubin",
        "Jonathan Ross"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "groq",
        "nvidia",
        "benjamin-serebrin",
        "joshua-rubin",
        "jonathan-ross"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/nvidias-20-billion-groq-deal-draws-investor-court-challenge",
          "outlet": "Bloomberg Law",
          "published": "2026-10-05",
          "quote": "This lawsuit is meritless and we will vigorously defend ourselves against it,” the spokesperson said."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "nvidia-acquisitions",
      "id": 1181,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/nvidia-acquisitions#n1181",
      "date": "2026-09-09",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Nvidia defends the Groq arrangement after the inquiry is reported",
      "summary": "An Nvidia spokesperson answered the reporting by calling the Groq deal an example of the American system working as designed.",
      "type": "response",
      "entities": [
        "Nvidia",
        "Groq",
        "John Rizzo",
        "U.S. Department of Justice"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "nvidia",
        "groq",
        "john-rizzo",
        "us-department-of-justice"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://thenextweb.com/news/doj-nvidia-groq-licensing-antitrust-review",
          "outlet": "The Next Web",
          "published": "2026-09-10",
          "quote": "\"The Groq story is a prime example of the American system working as designed to promote innovation, reward entrepreneurs, and benefit consumers,\" an Nvidia spokesperson said."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "nvidia-acquisitions",
      "id": 692,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/nvidia-acquisitions#n692",
      "date": "2025-12-24",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Groq: about $20 billion for a non-exclusive licence and the founding team, Nvidia's biggest deal by far",
      "summary": "On Christmas Eve Nvidia agreed to pay roughly $20 billion in cash for a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to Groq's inference-chip patents and software and to hire founder Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra and other staff, while Groq and GroqCloud nominally continued as an independent company. Structured as a licence rather than a merger, the deal avoided a Hart-Scott-Rodino filing; analysts said it kept 'the fiction of competition alive'.",
      "type": "announcement",
      "entities": [
        "Nvidia",
        "Groq",
        "Jonathan Ross",
        "Sunny Madra"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "nvidia",
        "groq",
        "jonathan-ross",
        "sunny-madra"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/24/nvidia-buying-ai-chip-startup-groq-for-about-20-billion-biggest-deal.html",
          "outlet": "CNBC",
          "published": "2025-12-24",
          "quote": "Nvidia is making its largest purchase ever, acquiring assets from 9-year-old chip startup Groq for about $20 billion."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/24/nvidia-acquires-ai-chip-challenger-groq-for-20b-report-says/",
          "outlet": "TechCrunch",
          "published": "2025-12-24",
          "quote": "Nvidia has struck a non-exclusive licensing agreement with AI chip competitor Groq."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "nvidia-acquisitions",
      "id": 1180,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/nvidia-acquisitions#n1180",
      "date": "2025-12",
      "date_precision": "month",
      "title": "Justice Department opens inquiry into Nvidia's Groq arrangement",
      "summary": "The Justice Department opened an inquiry into Nvidia's Groq licence-plus-hire arrangement shortly after it was announced in December 2025, and has since sent Nvidia a formal request for information. Nvidia took a non-exclusive licence to Groq's technology and hired several of its executives rather than buying the company, a structure the department is examining.",
      "type": "regulatory",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Justice",
        "Nvidia",
        "Groq"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-justice",
        "nvidia",
        "groq"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://thenextweb.com/news/doj-nvidia-groq-licensing-antitrust-review",
          "outlet": "The Next Web",
          "published": "2026-09-10",
          "quote": "The Justice Department opened its inquiry shortly after the deal was announced in December and has since sent Nvidia a formal request for information."
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "often_with": [
    {
      "id": "intel",
      "name": "Intel",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/intel",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/intel.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "microsoft",
      "name": "Microsoft",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/microsoft",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/microsoft.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "nvidia",
      "name": "Nvidia",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/nvidia",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/nvidia.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "xai",
      "name": "xAI",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/xai",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/xai.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "jensen-huang",
      "name": "Jensen Huang",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/jensen-huang",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/jensen-huang.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "amazon",
      "name": "Amazon",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/amazon",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/amazon.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "reuters",
      "name": "Reuters",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/reuters",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/reuters.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "coreweave",
      "name": "CoreWeave",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/coreweave",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/coreweave.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    }
  ],
  "license": {
    "holder": "What Led To",
    "terms": "https://whatledto.com/methodology#reuse",
    "summary": "Quote entries with attribution and a link to the entry; do not republish whole timelines or train models on the text."
  }
}
