Envision a world where the controlling force behind artificial intelligence isn’t a tech giant, but rather a chip company led by someone with firsthand experience crafting critical AI hardware. This is the backdrop against which Jonathan Ross, Founder & CEO of Groq, frames his conversation on “20VC with Harry Stebbings.” As detailed in the interview released on September 29, 2025, and sporting a viewership of over 1,500, Ross delves into a complex landscape where companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are predicted to develop their own AI chips, a strategic direction motivated by both tactical control over design and supply chain mastery. Ross positions Groq as a formidable adversary to monopolistic forces like NVIDIA by highlighting the breakthrough pathways his team is pursuing. Groq’s unique advantage lies in their less constrained supply chain, allowing them to outpace competitors in delivery and development.
Ross skillfully articulates the balancing act that major tech players must perform—juggling aboard the AI arms race while navigating the depths of chip manufacture’s technical challenges. At the center of this balancing act lies the insatiable demand for compute, central to this burgeoning market’s accelerated expansion. Groq, with its substantial $7 billion valuation, embodies innovation in chip design, notably utilizing more efficient SRAM over DRAM, which, despite being costlier per bit, reduces redundancy across multiple chips—pushing the technological boundaries using a system-level rather than a chip-level perspective.
However, Ross voices a cautionary note on the geopolitical and energy dynamics shaping the global AI race, where compute is a direct offshoot of energy capacity, posing a formidable challenge to Europe and other regions with more restrictive energy policies. These global tech strategies underscore both the potential and threat associated with advancements in AI hardware—a dual narrative of unprecedented economic opportunity paralleled by structural inadequacies in energy investment.
Through a careful balance of assurance and curiosity, Ross critiques the current state of global AI development with candid insights. He questions the long-term viability of approaches that disregard compute’s foundational impact on AI progression. His observations underscore the pivotal role chip innovation will play in defining the future landscape of artificial intelligence, reshaping economic expectations, and manufacturing the environments in which AI can thrive. He maintains that while technological strides hold significant promises, they also necessitate brave strategic shifts that ensure global competitive equity.