After Nvidia’s $20B not-acqui-hire, AI chip startup Groq reportedly raising $650M

Groq is looking to raise $650 million in new funding from existing investors, sources tell Axios , as it leans into its inference neocloud business that relies on its homegrown AI chip and systems. In December, Groq struck one of those not-an-acquisition agreements with Nvidia for a reported $20 billion , which involved the departure of some top-level senior Groq employees to the chip giant and the licensing of Groq’s hardware technology to Nvidia. That deal was good news for the startup’s investors, who got paid out in cash with what would have been Nvidia’s largest purchase, if the deal was a full-acquisition, Axios reports.