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An LPU (Language Processing Unit) is custom silicon that Groq pioneered in 2016, purpose-built from the ground up for transformer model inference rather than adapted from graphics workloads. Unlike GPUs, which handle many parallel tasks but introduce variable latency under load, the LPU's architecture produces deterministic, predictable response times at much higher speeds. This makes it uniquely suited for real-time applications like voice assistants and chat, where consistent latency matters more than raw throughput. The tradeoff is that only models Groq explicitly ports to the LPU are available.
Groq offers a free API key for developers to start building, and production usage is billed on a pay-per-token basis that varies by model. Specific pricing includes Llama 3.1 8B at $0.05/M input and $0.08/M output tokens, Llama 3.3 70B at $0.59/M input and $0.79/M output tokens, and Mixtral 8x7B at $0.24/M input and $0.24/M output tokens. By comparison, OpenAI's GPT-4o charges $2.50/M input tokens — making Groq's Llama 3.1 8B roughly 50x cheaper on input. Customer Fintool reported an 89% cost reduction after migrating from other infrastructure. Enterprise and high-volume customers can contact Groq directly for negotiated rates and dedicated capacity.
Yes — Groq exposes an OpenAI-compatible API, so you can switch most existing applications by changing the base URL to https://api.groq.com/openai/v1 and providing a GROQ_API_KEY. The official openai Python and JavaScript SDKs work without code changes to request/response handling. The main caveat is that you'll be calling open-source models like Llama or Mixtral rather than GPT-4, so prompt tuning may be needed. For teams already using OpenAI, migration often takes under an hour.
GroqCloud hosts a curated set of popular open-source models including Meta's Llama family, Mistral's Mixtral, Google's Gemma, and OpenAI's open models (Groq announced Day Zero support for OpenAI Open Models on August 5, 2025). The current full list is maintained at the GroqCloud models page. Unlike Bedrock or Azure, Groq does not offer proprietary frontier models like GPT-4, Claude, or Gemini. The selection is intentionally narrow to guarantee LPU-optimized speed on every supported model.
Yes — Groq is built for production and is used by enterprises including the McLaren Formula 1 Team, PGA of America, and financial-intelligence platform Fintool. The company raised $750 million in September 2025 to expand capacity, and its LPU-based stack runs in data centers worldwide to deliver low-latency responses globally. Deterministic performance makes it particularly well-suited for regulated or SLA-bound workloads. Enterprise customers can engage directly for dedicated capacity, custom pricing, and support.
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Last verified March 2026