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Nvidia Brings Groq’s Top Leaders Onboard in Non-Exclusive Deal to Boost AI Inference Push

Prime Highlight

  • Nvidia has hired Groq’s founder, Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra, and senior executives under a non-exclusive licensing agreement to strengthen its AI inference capabilities.
  • The move reflects an “acquihire” strategy, allowing Nvidia to secure top talent and technology without acquiring Groq outright, amid intense competition in the AI market.

Key Facts

  • Groq has not been sold to Nvidia and will continue operating independently under its new CEO, Simon Edwards.
  • The agreement allows Groq to keep licensing its inference technology to other companies while collaborating with Nvidia to expand access to low-cost AI processing.

Background

Nvidia has hired the top leadership of AI chip startup Groq as part of a new licensing agreement, strengthening its position in the fast-growing AI inference market. Groq founder Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra and several senior team members will join Nvidia to help scale Groq’s inference technology.

The agreement is non-exclusive, meaning Groq can still license its technology to other companies. Nvidia and Groq said the deal aims to make low-cost AI processing more accessible at a time when demand for faster and cheaper AI systems is rising sharply.

Groq clarified that it has not been sold to Nvidia, rejecting reports that the chip giant was acquiring the startup for $20 billion. A source close to the matter also confirmed that no sale has taken place. Instead, Groq will continue as an independent company under its new chief executive, Simon Edwards.

Nvidia already dominates the AI training chip market, a position that has helped it become the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation. However, the company faces strong competition in the inference space, where specialised startups like Groq focus on running trained AI models quickly and efficiently.

AI inference is the process used when an AI system gives real-time results, such as answering a question on ChatGPT or identifying objects in a photograph.

Industry observers describe the Nvidia-Groq arrangement as an “acquihire”, a growing trend in Silicon Valley. In such deals, large technology firms hire top talent from startups instead of buying the company outright. This approach often helps companies avoid closer attention from competition regulators.

Several tech giants have used this model in recent years. In 2024, Microsoft brought in leaders from Inflection AI. Google also hired teams from Character.AI. In 2025, Meta put $14.3 billion into Scale AI and hired its CEO to run a new superintelligence lab.

The Groq deal shows how major players are racing to secure talent and technology in the global AI arms race.