AI semiconductor startup Groq has announced the establishment of its first European data center in Helsinki, Finland, as part of its international expansion strategy. Supported by investment divisions of Samsung and Cisco (CSCO, Financial), Groq is collaborating with Equinix (EQIX) to meet the growing demand for AI services in Europe. The Nordic region is particularly attractive due to its access to renewable energy and cooler climate.
Groq, valued at $2.8 billion, has designed a chip called the Language Processing Unit (LPU), which is optimized for inference rather than training. Inference involves interpreting real-time data using pre-trained AI models, similar to generating answers with popular chatbots. While NVIDIA (NVDA) dominates the chip market for training large AI models with its GPUs, Groq is among several startups aiming to capture a share of the AI inference market. Competitors include SambaNova, Ampere, Cerebras, and Fractile.
European politicians are advocating for "sovereign AI," emphasizing the need for local data centers to enhance service speed and proximity to users. Equinix connects various cloud service providers, such as Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOGL), facilitating multi-vendor usage for enterprises. Groq's LPU will be installed in Equinix's data centers, allowing businesses to access Groq's inference capabilities through Equinix.
