By Laura Bratton
Publication Date: 2025-12-26 18:33:00
Nvidia’s (NVDA) licensing deal with chip startup Groq (GROQ.PVT) shows how the tech giant is leveraging its massive cash pile to sustain its dominance of the AI market.
Nvidia this week said it struck a non-exclusive deal with Groq to license its technology and hired the startup’s founder and CEO Jonathan Ross, its president, and other employees. CNBC reported the agreement to be worth $20 billion, marking Nvidia’s largest-ever deal. (The company declined a request for comment on the figure.)
Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said in a note to clients Thursday that the Nvidia-Groq deal “appears strategic in nature for NVDA as they leverage their increasingly powerful balance sheet to maintain dominance in key areas.” Nvidia’s cash inflow climbed more than 30% from the previous year to $22 billion in its most recent quarter.
“This transaction is … essentially an acquisition of Groq without being labeled one (to avoid the regulators’ scrutiny),” added Hedgeye Risk Management analysts in a note Friday.
The move is just the latest in a string of AI deals by Nvidia, the world’s first $5 trillion company. The chipmaker’s investments in AI firms span the entire market, ranging from large language model developers such as OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and xAI (XAAI.PVT) to “neoclouds” like Lambda (LAMD.PVT) and CoreWeave (CRWV), which specialize in AI services and compete with its Big Tech customers.
Nvidia has also…
