Chip startup Groq raises $750 million at $6.9 billion valuation

(Reuters) – Artificial intelligence chip startup Groq said on Wednesday it has raised $750 million in new financing at a post-money valuation of $6.9 billion.

Groq, a Silicon Valley chip startup founded by a former Alphabet engineer, is among a long list of new chip players looking to capitalize on hundreds of millions of dollars in investments on AI hardware.

The funding round was led by Disruptive with significant investment from Blackrock, Neuberger Berman, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and a large U.S.-based West Coast mutual fund manager, Groq said.

The round also included Samsung, Cisco, D1, Altimeter, 1789 Capital and Infinitum.

“Inference is defining this era of AI, and we’re building the American infrastructure that delivers it with high speed and low cost,” Jonathan Ross, Groq Founder and CEO, said.

In August last year, Groq raised $640 million in a Series D funding round led by Cisco Investments, Samsung Catalyst Fund and BlackRock Private Equity Partners, among others, which brought its valuation to $2.8 billion.

(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)