IBM and Groq have announced a new partnership aimed at accelerating the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprise clients. The collaboration will allow IBM customers to access Groq's inference technology, GroqCloud, through IBM's watsonx Orchestrate platform. This integration is intended to provide clients with high-speed AI inference capabilities while keeping costs manageable.

The two companies plan to work together on integrating and enhancing Red Hat's open source vLLM technology with Groq's Language Processing Unit (LPU) architecture. Additionally, IBM Granite models are expected to be supported on GroqCloud for IBM clients.

Many organizations in sectors such as healthcare, finance, government, retail, and manufacturing face ongoing challenges in moving AI agents from pilot stages into production. Issues related to speed, cost, and reliability remain significant barriers. The partnership between IBM and Groq aims to address these concerns by combining Groq's fast and cost-efficient inference solutions with IBM's expertise in orchestrating agentic AI systems.

GroqCloud is powered by a custom LPU that reportedly delivers more than five times the speed and cost efficiency of traditional GPU-based systems. This performance results in low latency and consistent reliability even as workloads increase globally. These attributes are especially relevant for regulated industries where dependable performance is critical.

In healthcare, for example, IBM notes that its clients often receive thousands of complex patient inquiries at once. With the integration of Groq technology, IBM’s AI agents can process information in real time and provide immediate responses. This capability is expected to improve customer experiences and support faster decision-making within organizations.

The benefits extend beyond regulated sectors. In retail and consumer packaged goods industries, IBM clients are using Groq-powered HR agents to automate human resources processes and boost employee productivity.

Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM, stated: "Many large enterprise organizations have a range of options with AI inferencing when they're experimenting, but when they want to go into production, they must ensure complex workflows can be deployed successfully to ensure high-quality experiences. Our partnership with Groq underscores IBM's commitment to providing clients with the most advanced technologies to achieve AI deployment and drive business value."

Jonathan Ross, CEO & Founder at Groq, added: "With Groq's speed and IBM's enterprise expertise, we're making agentic AI real for business. Together, we're enabling organizations to unlock the full potential of AI-driven responses with the performance needed to scale. Beyond speed and resilience, this partnership is about transforming how enterprises work with AI, moving from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption with confidence, and opening the door to new patterns where AI can act instantly and learn continuously."

IBM will begin offering access to GroqCloud immediately. The joint teams will focus on delivering high-speed inference capabilities for use cases such as customer care and employee support; security-focused deployments that meet strict regulatory requirements; seamless integration with watsonx Orchestrate; as well as enhancements in developer tools like inference orchestration and hardware acceleration through Red Hat vLLM technology combined with Groq’s LPU architecture.

IBM emphasized that statements regarding future plans or directions may change or be withdrawn without notice.