Graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. is buying the assets of US startup Groq, which develops high-performance AI accelerators, for $20bn, CNBC reported, citing Disruptive’s chief executive Alex Davis, the fintech company’s chief executive.
Disruptive has invested more than $500 million in Groq since the startup’s 2016 founding and participated in its September investment round, in which Groq raised $750 million and was valued at about $6.9 billion.
According to Davis, Nvidia will get all of Groq’s assets with the exception of its cloud business.
The purchase could be the largest in Nvidia’s history, CNBC noted.
Groq said Wednesday that it has entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Nvidia under which Nvidia will have access to the startup’s technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Groq founder Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra, and other employees of the startup will join Nvidia’s team and help the company develop and scale the licensed technologies. The financial side of the deal was not disclosed.
Groq will continue to operate as an independent company, the statement said.
Nvidia’s share prices are up 0.7 per cent during earlier trading on Friday. They are up 40.5 per cent since the beginning of the year.