What happened
- The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Nvidia structured its deal with Groq, a maker of inference chips, so as to avoid antitrust review. The New York Times reported it on September 9, citing two people familiar with the matter, and Reuters couldn’t immediately verify it.
- In December 2025, Nvidia announced a non-exclusive license to Groq’s technology for $17 billion, according to Reuters, and hired several of its executives, including founder Jonathan Ross. Other accounts put the amount at $20 billion.
- The investigation began shortly after the announcement, and the Department has already sent Nvidia a formal request for information.
- According to the NYT, the case could end in a fine, but it’s unlikely to force the deal to be unwound.
- Nvidia responded that the Groq case shows the American system working to reward innovation and entrepreneurs.
Why it matters
- The formula is a technology license plus hiring the team, without buying the company. Axios warned that if the Justice Department deems it illegal, the criterion could reach many other deals in the sector.
- For a Latin American founder negotiating with a big tech company, that kind of offer stops being a path free of regulatory friction.
- Groq competed in inference, the stage in which an already trained model answers queries. It’s the compute paid for by companies that use AI without training it.
The number
9 months. That’s how long the investigation had been open without being publicly known, since the deal was announced in December 2025.
Context
Nvidia chose another form for its next big move: the purchase of Hugging Face, announced on September 3, was presented as a direct acquisition, at 86 times the company’s revenue. The recent trend in the courts also points to conduct remedies rather than breakups: Google kept AdX, and the judge changed the auction’s rules.
What’s next
- The Justice Department hasn’t reported timelines for the investigation.
- No timelines announced for an eventual ruling or fine.
Bottom line
The Groq license and the Hugging Face purchase came from the same company nine months apart. Only one of the two took the form of a purchase.
This note describes an ongoing investigation and does not constitute legal advice.
Sources
- Justice Department investigating Nvidia deal with Groq — The New York Times, September 9, 2026
- US DOJ probes Nvidia’s licensing deal with AI startup Groq, NYT reports — Reuters via Yahoo Finance, September 9, 2026
- DOJ investigates Nvidia’s deal with Groq — Axios, September 10, 2026
Edited by Rodrigo Cornejo. How we select and verify the facts, in who writes.
