Nvidia, Groq Strike AI Tech Licensing Deal

Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO. (Getty Images)

Key Points

• Nvidia entered a nonexclusive agreement to license technology from artificial intelligence chip start-up Groq.
• Groq founder Jonathan Ross and president Sunny Madra will join Nvidia, bringing engineering talent.
• Groq, which makes hardware for AI models, will remain an independent company after the deal.

In a Christmas Eve deal, Nvidia has entered into a nonexclusive agreement to license technology from artificial intelligence chip start-up Groq, according to a statement on Groq’s website.

Groq founder Jonathan Ross and Sunny Madra, Groq’s president, will leave the company and join Nvidia, bringing other engineering talent with them, according to the statement. Groq will remain an independent company, but it isn’t clear if Nvidia is taking an equity stake.

Groq makes hardware that AI models can run on, something Nvidia’s hardware now dominates. It may be a sign that Nvidia thinks competing chips on new architectures will soon be material competitors, and that it needs to get ahead of it.

Write to Adam Levine at adam.levine@barrons.com