(Bloomberg) — Artificial intelligence startup Groq Inc. has raised $640 million in new funding, underscoring investor enthusiasm for innovation in chips for AI systems.
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The startup designs semiconductors and software to optimize the performance of AI tasks, aiming to help alleviate the huge bottleneck in demand for AI computing power. It was valued at $2.8 billion in the deal, which was led by funds from BlackRock Inc. and included support from the investment arms of Cicsco Systems Inc.
The Series D round nearly triples the Mountain View, California-based company’s valuation of $1 billion in a 2021 funding round. Groq is entering the market for new semiconductors that run AI software, competing with established companies such as Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and leader Nvidia Corp.
“This funding accelerates our vision of delivering instant AI inference computing to the world,” CEO Jonathan Ross said in a statement.
Former Intel Corp. executive Stuart Pann is joining Groq to serve as chief operating officer, the company said.
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