Since the AI Spring, Nvidia’s phenomenal growth and earnings have dominated tech conversations. However, amid this buzz, there’s another player you shouldn’t overlook: Groq. 

Not to be confused with Elon Musk’s Grok, Groq is revolutionizing the AI chip industry, which is projected to reach $119.4B by 2027, with its innovative tensor streaming processor (TSP) technology, setting itself apart from traditional graphics processing units (GPUs).

In this article, we’ll delve into everything you need to know about Groq, from its unique offerings to its competitive advantages. Let’s get started.

What is Groq?

“We are probably going to be the infrastructure that most startups are using by the end of the year [2024]. — Groq CEO and founder Jonathan Ross

Groq is a technology startup that is on a mission to build the world’s fastest AI inference technology, enabling the efficient, cost-effective, and accessible widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) solutions for a wide range of industries and use cases. 

Groq Funding, Valuation, and Investors

Groq has raised a total of $367 million across multiple funding rounds, with the most recent Series C round bringing in $300 million. This round was co-led by Tiger Global Management and D1 Capital with additional investments from The Spruce House Partnership, Addition, and several other venture firms. Groq’s valuation is approximately $2.5 billion. 

Groq’s Chips: Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and Language Processing Units (LPUs)

Groq's primary focus is on developing a new type of AI architecture called Language Processing Units (LPUs), previously branded as "Tensor Processing Units" (TPUs), which are designed to accelerate machine learning computations. 

Their TPUs are specifically designed to handle the complex mathematical calculations required for AI and ML tasks, such as natural language processing, computer vision, and speech recognition.

What is the LPU Inference Engine by Groq?

The Groq LPU inference engine is a high-performance AI accelerator designed for low latency and high throughput. Utilizing Groq’s tensor streaming processor (TSP) technology, it processes AI workloads more efficiently than traditional GPUs. This makes it ideal for real-time applications like autonomous vehicles, robotics, and advanced AI chatbots.

The LPU inference engine excels in handling large language models (LLMs) and generative AI by overcoming bottlenecks in compute density and memory bandwidth. Its superior compute capacity and elimination of external memory limitations result in significantly better performance on LLMs compared to GPUs.

Why Are Groq’s LPUs an AI Inference “Game-Changer”?

Groq calls itself the “US chipmaker poised to win the AI race”, and makes bold claims like ChatGPT is estimated to run more than 13 times faster if it were powered by Groq chips. 

Here’s why Groq’s LPUs (Large Processing Units) might be the game-changer in AI inference, compared to existing GPUs:

• Scalability: LPUs are designed to scale to large model sizes and complex computations, making them suitable for large-scale AI and ML applications. GPUs are also designed to scale to large model sizes and complex computations, but may not be as efficient as LPUs in terms of scalability.
• Efficient Resource Utilization: LPUs are designed to efficiently utilize system resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage, to accelerate the inference process.
• Advanced Matrix Multiplication: LPUs are designed to provide advanced matrix multiplication capabilities, allowing for efficient computation of complex matrix operations.
• Advanced Neural Network Processing: LPUs are designed to provide advanced neural network processing capabilities, allowing for efficient computation of complex neural networks. 
• Lower Power Consumption: LPUs are designed to consume low power, making them suitable for edge computing and IoT applications.
• Cost Effective: LPUs are designed to be cost-effective, making them a viable option for organizations and developers who want to accelerate their AI and ML workloads.

What is AI Inference and How is It Different from AI Training?

AI inference is a process where a trained machine learning model makes predictions or decisions based on new data, oftentimes in real time. In other words, AI training builds the model; whereas AI inference uses the model. 

Since AI inference is an ongoing process, it requires more compute power than AI training, which is a one-time task.

Groq vs. Nvidia

While Groq has shown promising performance claims, NVIDIA remains the industry leader in AI accelerators and enjoys over 80% of the high-end chip market. In the table below, we compare Groq with NVIDIA. 

Groq Chat

Groq Chat uses Groq’s advanced Language Processing Unit (LPU) to provide fast and efficient responses. You can start chatting for free here. It allows you to use four large language models (LLMs): 

• Gemma 7B
• Mistral 8x7B
• Llama 3 8B
• Llama 3 70B

Groq API

Since January 2024, Groq has enabled users to experiment with models such as Mixtral 8x7B SMoE (32K Context Length) and Llama 3 70B (8K Context Length) for developers to integrate real-time AI inference into their applications. 

Groq API Pricing

Groq offers a range of pricing options based on usage:

• Free Tier: Ideal for getting started with low rate limits and community support.
• On Demand: Pay per token with higher rate limits and priority support.
• Business Tier: Custom solutions with tailored rate limits, fine-tuned models, custom SLAs, and dedicated support.

Pricing per million tokens is as follows:

• Llama3-70B-8k: $0.59 (input) / $0.79 (output)
• Llama3-8B-8k: $0.05 (input) / $0.10 (output)
• Mixtral-8x7B-32k: $0.27 (input/output)
• Gemma-7B-Instruct: $0.10 (input/output)

To get started with the Groq API, create your API key here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Groq AI vs. Grok Chatbot by Elon Musk

Groq AI is specialized hardware for efficient AI inference, while Grok Chatbot is a general-purpose conversational AI model developed by xAI for Twitter (now called X).

Who Owns Groq?

Groq was founded in 2016 by former Google engineers led by Jonathan Ross (the current CEO) and Douglas Wightman. Some of Groq’s known investors include Playground Global, Eclipse Ventures, and Tiger Global Management.

Is Groq Publicly Traded?

No, Groq is not publicly traded. As a private company, Groq is not required to disclose its financial information to the public, and its shares are not listed on a stock exchange.

How to Invest in Groq? 

Since Groq is not publicly traded on a stock exchange, individual investors can only invest in Groq through private equity firms, venture capital firms, angel investors, or crowdfunding platforms.