Groq vs Texas Instruments: Founders, CEOs and History
Groq was founded in 2016 by Jonathan Ross, Douglas Wightman and is led by Doug Wightman. Texas Instruments was founded in 1951 by Patrick E. Haggerty, Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson and is led by Haviv Ilan.
Company facts
Groq
- Founded
- 2016
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Doug Wightman
Texas Instruments
- Founded
- 1951
- Headquarters
- Dallas, Texas, United States
- Current CEO
- Haviv Ilan
- Employees
- 33,000
Founders
Groq
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross co-founded Groq in 2016 and was its CEO until December 2025. At Google he helped start the TPU program, the custom AI accelerator Google uses across its services.
Douglas Wightman
Doug Wightman co-founded Groq with Jonathan Ross in 2016 after working as an engineer at Google.
Texas Instruments
Patrick E. Haggerty
Patrick Haggerty led GSI's move into electronics and pushed Texas Instruments into transistors in the early 1950s, including licensing transistor technology from Western Electric and backing the 1954 Regency TR-1 transistor radio.
Cecil H. Green
Cecil H. Green served as a director of Texas Instruments from its founding until his retirement from active corporate involvement in the 1970s and made essential contributions to the company's financial management and international expansion.
J. Erik Jonsson
J. Erik Jonsson (1901-1995) was a co-founder of Texas Instruments. In 1930, he joined GSI, an oil exploration firm, and later orchestrated the buyout of the company alongside Cecil Green and Eugene McDermott on the eve of WWII.
Eugene McDermott
Eugene McDermott (1899-1973) co-founded Geophysical Service Inc. (the predecessor to Texas Instruments) in 1930. He pioneered the use of reflection seismology to discover oil reserves.
CEOs and their tenures
Groq
- Jonathan Ross2016–2025
Founder & Chief Executive Officer (former)
As Founder and CEO, the former Google TPU architect aggressively positions Groq as the absolute fastest AI hardware on Earth, explicitly targeting the massive latency bottlenecks of generative AI.
Source - Alex Davis2021–present
Chairman
He aggressively targets massive enterprise AI deployments, proving that Groq's specialized chips are significantly cheaper to run at scale than Nvidia's highly expensive H100s.
Source - Simon Edwards2025–2026
Chief Executive Officer (former; previously CFO)
He aggressively markets Groq's staggering speed advantage, specifically targeting developers frustrated by the slow response times of ChatGPT and other cloud providers.
Source - Doug Wightman2026–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
He manages massive engineering efforts to ensure the LPU hardware scales efficiently across data centers without catastrophic network bottlenecks.
Source - Alan Rice2026–present
Chief Operating Officer
He manages the incredibly complex supply chain required to manufacture highly advanced semiconductors in a deeply constrained global market.
Source - Sinclair Schuller2026–present
Chief Technology Officer
He directs the massive software engineering effort required to ensure standard AI models (like Llama) can actually compile and run on Groq's highly unique, non-GPU architecture.
Source - Rakesh Malhotra2026–present
Chief Product Officer
He leads the physical silicon design, ensuring the LPU can actually be manufactured at scale by massive foundries like GlobalFoundries.
Source
Texas Instruments
- Jerry R. Junkins1985–1996
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
He died suddenly in May 1996 while on a business trip in Germany, and Tom Engibous succeeded him.
Source - Thomas J. Engibous1996–2004
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
He led the 2000 purchase of Burr-Brown. Rich Templeton succeeded him as chief executive in 2004.
Source - Rich Templeton2004–2023
President and Chief Executive Officer
During his nearly 20 years as CEO, he transformed TI into a massive free-cash-flow generating machine, aggressively expanding its 300mm wafer manufacturing footprint in the US.
Source - Haviv Ilan2023–present
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Haviv Ilan succeeded Rich Templeton as president and CEO on April 1, 2023, and later added the chairman role. He has overseen the start of production at Sherman SM1 in December 2025, the 2025-2026 revenue recovery and the 2026 agreement to buy Silicon Labs.
Source
Timeline: Groq and Texas Instruments side by side
1951Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated Founded
Texas Instruments Incorporated was formally established as an independent entity in 1951 by Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott, and Patrick E. Haggerty, growing out of the electronics manufacturing operations of Geophysics Service Incorporated.
1952Texas Instruments
Western Electric Transistor License Acquired
TI acquired a license from Western ElectricAT&T's manufacturing subsidiaryto produce transistors based on Bell Laboratories' technology for a fee of 25,000 dollars.
1954Texas Instruments
First Commercial Silicon Transistor
TI engineer Gordon Teal announced the world's first commercial silicon transistor at the Institute of Radio Engineers convention, shocking competitors who had not believed silicon transistors were manufacturable at commercial volumes.
1958Texas Instruments
Jack Kilby Invents the Integrated Circuit
On September 12, 1958, TI engineer Jack Kilby demonstrated the world's first working integrated circuit, a small piece of germanium containing a transistor, capacitor, and resistors connected by metal wire on a single substrate.
1972Texas Instruments
First Handheld Electronic Calculator
TI introduced the Datamath, the world's first commercial handheld electronic calculator powered by a single integrated circuit chip that TI designed and manufactured.
1978Texas Instruments
TMS9900: World's First Single-Chip 16-Bit Microprocessor
TI introduced the TMS9900, the world's first commercially available single-chip 16-bit microprocessor.
1983Texas Instruments
Exit from Home Computer Market
Texas Instruments announced the discontinuation of the TI-99/4A home computer following losses estimated at approximately 660 million dollars from its consumer PC business.
1996Texas Instruments
Digital Light Processing Technology Commercial Launch
TI commercially launched Digital Light Processing technology based on the Digital Micromirror Device chip invented by engineer Larry Hornbeck in 1987.
2011Texas Instruments
National Semiconductor Acquisition for 6.5 Billion Dollars
TI completed the acquisition of National Semiconductor Corporation for approximately 6.5 billion dollars in cash, adding National's extensive analog product portfolioparticularly in power management and audio amplifiersto TI's catalog.
2013Texas Instruments
Exit from Mobile Application Processor Business
Texas Instruments formally exited the mobile application processor market, discontinuing development of its OMAP processor line that had powered smartphones and tablets from Nokia, Motorola, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
2016Groq
Groq founded
Jonathan Ross and Douglas Wightman founded Groq in Mountain View to build a compiler-first AI inference chip.
2021Groq
$300M Series C
Raised $300 million co-led by Tiger Global and D1 Capital, reaching unicorn status.
2021Texas Instruments
CHIPS Act Manufacturing Expansion Announcement
TI announced plans to construct new 300-millimeter semiconductor fabrication facilities in Sherman, Texas, and to expand its Lehi, Utah facility acquired from Micron Technology.
2022Groq
Acquired Maxeler Technologies
Groq acquired Maxeler Technologies.
2023Texas Instruments
Haviv Ilan Becomes CEO
Haviv Ilan assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Texas Instruments, succeeding Rich Templeton who had served as CEO since 2004.
2024Groq
GroqCloud launches
Opened GroqCloud to developers; demos of open LLMs at several hundred tokens per second drew wide attention. Acquired Definitive Intelligence.
2024Groq
$640M Series D at $2.8B
Raised $640 million led by BlackRock Private Equity Partners at a $2.8 billion valuation.
2025Groq
$750M at $6.9B valuation
Raised $750 million at a $6.9 billion post-money valuation, led by Disruptive.
2025Groq
Nvidia licensing deal
Nvidia signed a non-exclusive license for Groq's inference technology, reported at about $20 billion, and hired Ross, Madra and other staff. CFO Simon Edwards became CEO.
2026Groq
$650M raise and new leadership
Raised $650 million led by Disruptive and Infinitum; Doug Wightman became CEO and Groq added a new COO, CTO and CPO.
2026Groq
Nvidia Cloud Partner
Became an Nvidia Cloud Partner, clearing the way to equip its data centers with Nvidia inference systems.
Acquisitions
Groq
- Definitive Intelligence2024Undisclosed
- Maxeler Technologies2022Undisclosed
- Maxeler Technologies HPC Assets2022Undisclosed
Texas Instruments
- Silicon Laboratories (Silicon Labs)2026$7.5B
- Micron Technology Lehi, Utah Facility2021$900M
- National Semiconductor Corporation2011$6.5B
- Burr-Brown Corporation2000$7.6B
- Unitrode Corporation1999$1.2B
Questions about Groq vs Texas Instruments
Who is the CEO of Groq, Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc.?
Groq, Inc. is led by Doug Wightman and Texas Instruments Inc. is led by Haviv Ilan. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Groq, Inc. founded vs Texas Instruments Inc.?
Texas Instruments Inc. was founded in 1951 — 65 years before Groq, Inc., which was founded in 2016. Texas Instruments Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Groq, Inc..
How many employees does Groq, Inc. have compared to Texas Instruments Inc.?
Texas Instruments Inc. employs approximately 33,000 people. A verified employee count for Groq, Inc. is not currently available.
Where are Groq, Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. headquartered?
Both Groq, Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded Groq, Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc.?
Groq, Inc. was founded by Jonathan Ross, Douglas Wightman. Texas Instruments Inc. was founded by Patrick E. Haggerty, Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott.
Which company has a longer operating history — Groq, Inc. or Texas Instruments Inc.?
Texas Instruments Inc. has been operating for approximately 75 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Groq, Inc. has been in operation for around 10 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Groq vs Texas Instruments overview