Story of Jonathan Ross: Founder and CEO - Groq
Story of Jonathan Ross:
Groq was founded in 2016 by Jonathan Ross and a group of
former Google engineers. Ross, the current CEO, played a pivotal role in
creating Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) before founding Groq. His vision
was to build a new chip specifically designed for AI inference tasks, leading
to the development of the proprietary Language Processing Unit (LPU). This chip
is purpose-built to meet the high speed and memory demands of large AI models,
aiming to make AI inference faster and more affordable at scale.
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The company focuses on delivering high-performance hardware
and software solutions for AI inference workloads such as large language models
(LLMs), image classification, anomaly detection, and predictive analytics.
Groq’s LPU architecture emphasizes deterministic processing and dataflow
locality to optimize execution performance and energy efficiency. This unique
design allows it to outperform conventional GPUs by offering up to 10 times
faster processing while dramatically reducing operational costs.
Groq’s LPU is manufactured on advanced semiconductor
processes, with its first generation operating with impressive computational
density on a 14nm chip, and the next generation being built on Samsung’s
cutting-edge 4nm process node. This progression highlights Groq’s commitment to
innovation and scaling performance alongside industry-leading hardware
advancements.
The startup also offers GroqChat, a chatbot similar to
ChatGPT but powered by their own LPU technology, delivering faster responses
and real-time intelligence. Developers can easily integrate Groq’s inference
services via GroqCloud, a cloud platform launched in early 2024 that rents
access to Groq’s high-speed chips through a user-friendly API.
Groq’s rapid growth is reflected in its explosive search
interest—rising nearly 2,000% over five years—and a monthly visitor count of
around 2.2 million. The company is based in Mountain View, California, with
additional offices in San Jose, Liberty Lake, Toronto, London, and remote teams
across North America and Europe.
Funding has been a major driver of Groq's expansion.
Starting with seed investments from influencers like Chamath Palihapitiya’s
Social Capital, the company secured a $300 million Series C round in 2021 and a
$640 million Series D round led by BlackRock in 2024, pushing its valuation to
nearly $2.8 billion. They also recently closed a deal securing $1.5 billion in
funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and partnerships to expand AI
infrastructure in Canada.
Key acquisitions have strengthened Groq’s portfolio and
capabilities, including Maxeler Technologies in 2022, known for dataflow
systems, and Definitive Intelligence in 2024, which provides business-oriented
AI software solutions to enhance GroqCloud.
Jonathan Ross’s leadership is deeply technical and
visionary, drawing on his background at Google X’s “Moonshots Factory” and his
expertise in creating the TPU. He advocates for democratizing AI compute power
to keep the technology accessible and competitive across the globe, defeating
monopolistic control by a few large companies.
The tech community recognizes Groq as a formidable
challenger to GPU giants like Nvidia, particularly in inference performance
where Groq claims groundbreaking speed and efficiency. Groq continues to push
the boundaries of AI hardware innovation, aiming to double the world's AI
compute capacity by 2027.
Groq’s journey is a story of technological innovation,
brilliant leadership, strategic funding, and global expansion, as it stands on
the forefront of the AI inference revolution, shaping the future of fast,
cost-effective AI computing.
Timeline Summary:
- 2016:
Groq founded by Jonathan Ross and former Google engineers
- 2017:
Seed funding secured from Social Capital ($10M)
- 2021:
Raised $300M in Series C led by Tiger Global and D1 Capital
- March
2022: Acquired Maxeler Technologies
- August
2023: Selected Samsung's 4nm foundry for next-gen chips
- February
2024: Launched GroqCloud developer platform
- March
2024: Acquired Definitive Intelligence
- August
2024: Raised $640M Series D led by BlackRock, valued at $2.8B
- 2025:
Secured $1.5B from Saudi Arabia and expanded Bell Canada AI infrastructure
partnerships
