The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether Nvidia structured its US$ 17 billion deal with Groq to avoid an antitrust review that could occur in a traditional acquisition. The investigation was revealed by the New York Times on Wednesday (9), based on sources close to the case.
The deal, announced in December 2025, was presented as a non-exclusive licensing of Groq's inference technology. At the same time, founder Jonathan Ross, then-president Sunny Madra and other members of the startup left the company to work at Nvidia. Groq remained an independent company.
Regulatory documents from Nvidia itself show that the transaction involved US$ 13 billion paid at closing and another US$ 4 billion to be paid later. The company also stated that it did not acquire customer contracts, existing products or an equity stake in Groq.
Deal structure comes under DOJ scrutiny
That structure is at the center of the investigation. Deals that combine technology licensing and team hiring can allow large companies to obtain strategic assets and talent without formally carrying out a merger or acquisition, transactions that are normally subject to specific antitrust review mechanisms.
According to the New York Times, the DOJ opened the investigation shortly after the deal was announced and sent Nvidia a formal demand for information about the transaction. The agency seeks to determine whether the form chosen for the deal was intended to circumvent regulatory scrutiny.
If it identifies irregularities, the Department of Justice could impose penalties on Nvidia, although the investigation, according to the report, is unlikely to result in the reversal of the deal. Nvidia, Groq and DOJ had not publicly commented on the investigation to Reuters as of the publication of the report this Thursday (10).
