Groq Founder Jonathan Ross's Net Worth Post $20 Billion Nvidia Transaction

Nvidia has licensed chip technology from startup Groq and hired its CEO, a former Google AI veteran. The deal reflects a growing trend among tech giants: acquiring talent and technology from promising startups without pursuing full acquisitions.

While Nvidia dominates the market for training artificial intelligence models, Groq specializes in inference—the process where trained models respond to user requests. Inference is a more competitive space, with rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices, Cerebras Systems, and other startups vying for market share.

Groq announced in a blog post on Wednesday that Nvidia had agreed to a non-exclusive license of its technology. The company also confirmed that its founder, Jonathan Ross who helped launch Google’s AI chip program—along with President Sunny Madra and other engineering leaders, will join Nvidia. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, though a CNBC report suggested Nvidia may have agreed to acquire Groq for $20 billion in cash. Neither company commented on that report.

Despite the leadership changes, Groq emphasized that it will continue operating independently under new CEO Simon Edwards, with its cloud business remaining intact. Analysts noted that this arrangement allows Nvidia to benefit from Groq’s expertise while avoiding the complexities of a full acquisition. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reinforced the company’s strategy during his keynote speech in 2025, arguing that Nvidia is well-positioned to maintain its lead as the AI market shifts focus from training to inference.