Nvidia AI chip challenger Groq said to be nearing new fundraising at $6B valuation

AI chip startup Groq is reportedly in discussions to secure a substantial $600 million funding round, aiming for a valuation close to $6 billion. This information comes from sources familiar with the situation, as reported by Bloomberg. While the details are still being finalized, the proposed valuation marks a significant increase from Groq's previous $2.8 billion valuation achieved in August 2024, effectively doubling its worth in just under a year. Since its inception, Groq has successfully raised approximately $1 billion in funding. The latest funding round is expected to be led by Disruptive, a firm based in Austin. Notably, the previous round in November saw participation from major players like BlackRock, Neuberger Berman, Type One Ventures, Cisco, KDDI, and the Samsung Catalyst Fund. Founded by Jonathan Ross, a former Google engineer known for his work on the Tensor Processing Unit, Groq emerged from stealth mode in 2016. This new fundraising effort follows a significant partnership announced in May with Bell Canada, aimed at enhancing the telecommunications giant's AI infrastructure. Additionally, in April, Groq collaborated with Meta to provide AI infrastructure designed to accelerate Llama 4 inference processes. As of now, neither Disruptive nor Groq has responded to requests for comments regarding this fundraising initiative.