Inference provider

Groq

United States

Serves

7 open model families

Pricing

per-token

API

OpenAI-compatible

You substantially own low-latency inference here: the Groq Services Agreement and your-data docs confirm you keep all IP in Inputs/Outputs, Groq never trains on your data, inference is not retained by default, and ZDR is available to all via Data Controls, with a portable OpenAI-compatible API exit. It falls short of full because the opt-in batch and fine-tuning paths retain data in US GCP storage, the SOC 2 report and ISO posture are unverified, and the US HQ (DPA permits US processing) carries CLOUD Act exposure. Turn on ZDR, keep sensitive data out of the batch/fine-tuning paths, and look to an EU-sovereign provider if you need mature EU residency.

Do you really own it?

Substantial

none·limited·partial·substantial·full

Analytical input: AOI B · 70/100

The four ownership factors

Use & modify

what you're allowed to do

dependable and good enough

Floor-weighted, not averaged. Nothing is weak and both use & modify and data control are strong, so the floor is high; transparency and reliability sit at moderate, which is what keeps it short of full.

Use and modify freelyCan you use it freely and leave without lock-in?

Strong

OpenAI-compatible API (docs read: base URL https://api.groq.com/openai/v1) over open-weight models keeps workloads portable - the same checkpoints run elsewhere or self-hosted - and the Services Agreement confirms the customer retains all IP in Inputs/Outputs; the custom LPU and narrower catalogue are coverage limits, not exit blockers.

How this scores (AOI sub-dimensions)

Transparency & lock-in3/5how portable it is and how easily you can leaveAn OpenAI-compatible API (base URL read from the docs) over open-weight models keeps it portable, but custom LPU hardware and a narrower/curated catalogue (no full DeepSeek/GLM/Mistral or arbitrary fine-tunes) limit coverage and are lock-in considerations.

Cost4/5how the pricing model compares and how predictable it isLow per-token rates read from Groq's own pricing page (Llama 3.3 70B $0.59/$0.79, gpt-oss-120B $0.15/$0.60) plus a rate-limited free/developer tier (e.g.

TransparencyAre the binding terms published, legible and independently checkable?

Moderate

The governing Services Agreement and DPA are legible - they state customer IP retention, never-train, retention windows and a published sub-processor list - but the SOC 2 report itself is gated (not read) and ISO 27001/region-pinning are unconfirmed.

How this scores

Not a scored AOI dimension. For a hosted provider, transparency is whether the binding terms are published, legible and were actually read - the read/unverified evidence below, not a certification. A strong rating here must trace to a retrieved binding document.

ReliabilityDoes it stay up and stay secure?

Moderate

The trust centre attests SOC 2 Type II operational controls, but as a fast-scaling hardware startup Groq has no public uptime SLA or status history independently verified.

How this scores (AOI sub-dimensions)

Reliability2/5whether it stays up, with an SLA and status historyNo incidents surfaced and the trust centre attests operational controls, but this is a fast-scaling hardware startup with no public uptime SLA or status history independently verified.

Security4/5the controls protecting your traffic and dataSOC 2 Type II controls per the trust centre, and the Services Agreement documents ZDR/Data Controls and that Groq does not access/store/retain Inputs or Outputs except to provide the service.

Compliance4/5which independent certifications and attestations it holdsThe trust centre states SOC 2 Type II is maintained (2025 report), the DPA covers GDPR/CCPA/PDPL and a published sub-processor list, and a HIPAA BAA is offered.

Doesn't extract your dataDo the binding terms keep your data and IP yours?

Strong

The binding Services Agreement (read) states the customer retains IP in Inputs/Outputs, Groq never accesses customer data for training, and Inputs/Outputs are not accessed/stored/retained except to provide the service; the your-data docs confirm no default inference retention and ZDR for all via Data Controls. Caveat: the opt-in batch (30-day) and fine-tuning features retain data in US GCP storage.

How this scores (AOI sub-dimensions)

Data governance4/5retention, training-on-inputs and data ownershipThe binding Groq Services Agreement and DPA state the customer retains all IP in Inputs/Outputs, Groq is not permitted to use Inputs/Outputs to train or fine-tune models (Sec 4.2, all tiers), inference is not retained by default, and a mutual confidentiality clause (Sec 10) treats Customer Data as the customer's Confidential Information - a strong standard-terms posture.

Residency3/5where your data is processed and storedCORRECTED 2026-09-21 (wording): a EU data centre exists (Helsinki, launched July 2025 with Equinix, now with roughly 14 months of track record - independently re-confirmed) satisfying the "EU region available" anchor.

How the AOI score is computed

The seven dimensions above, each scored 0 to 5, weighted and summed to the 0 to 100 headline. The score is the analytical input behind the ownership verdict, not the verdict itself.

DimensionScoreWeightPoints

Data governance4/50.2419.2

Compliance4/50.1814.4

Residency3/50.169.6

Security4/50.1411.2

Reliability2/50.124.8

Transparency & lock-in3/50.106.0

Cost4/50.064.8

HeadlineB · 70/100

Dossier coverageAssess 81%Implement 50%Use 50%Support 43%How complete our four-domain documentation is, a measure of our coverage, not of the model. Each domain links to its page.

Sources

Every rating traces to a primary document. Read means the text was verified; unverified means it is known to exist but has not yet been read.

DocumentWhat it grounds

Documentationread2026-07-25

By default Groq does not retain customer data for inference requests; Groq is not permitted to use Inputs or Outputs to train or fine-tune AI Model Services or other models and will never access Customer Data for training; batch input/output files are retained 30 days unless deleted; fine-tuning weights/datasets are retained until deleted; all customers may enable ZDR in Data Controls; retained data sits in US GCP buckets.

Terms of serviceread2026-08-06

Groq Services Agreement (re-read 2026-08-06): Customer retains all Intellectual Property Rights in Customer Data (including Inputs and Outputs); Sec 4.2 - Groq is not permitted to use Inputs or Outputs for training or fine-tuning any AI Model Services or other models (all tiers, free included) unless the Customer grants permission; Groq does not access/store/retain Inputs/Outputs except to provide the Cloud Services; on termination Customer Data is deleted within 30 days.

Data Processing Addendumread2026-07-25

GroqCloud Data Processing Addendum: covers GDPR/CCPA/PDPL; Groq maintains a sub-processor list at trust.groq.com/subprocessors with a 15-day written objection right; Personal Data may be transferred to and Processed in the United States and other countries; batch files retained 30 days, fine-tuning data until deleted, ZDR available via Data Controls.

Data Processing Addendumread2026-07-25

GroqCloud Business Associate Addendum: supplements the Services Agreement; Groq acts as business associate/subcontractor for PHI with administrative, technical and physical safeguards; the Compound system is excluded as not a HIPAA Covered Cloud Service.

Securityread2026-07-25

Groq trust centre states SOC 2 Type II is maintained (2025 report) and hosts the GDPR/HIPAA compliance posture and a sub-processor list (updated November 2025); the SOC 2 report itself is gated behind request.

Subprocessorsunverified2026-07-25

Groq publishes its sub-processor list and the nature of services they provide at trust.groq.com/subprocessors (referenced by the DPA); the individual sub-processor entries were not enumerated this session.

Vendor announcementread2026-07-25

Groq launched its first European data centre footprint in Helsinki, Finland on 6 July 2025 with Equinix, bringing inference capacity closer to EU users; Equinix Fabric offers public, private or sovereign infrastructure and builds on Groq's existing Dallas US site.

Vendor announcementread2026-07-25

Groq pricing page: per-token rates including Llama 3.3 70B $0.59/M in, $0.79/M out and gpt-oss-120B $0.15/M in, $0.60/M out, with a free/developer tier; other example rates are approximate.

Documentationread2026-07-25

Groq OpenAI-compatibility docs: use the OpenAI client libraries against base URL https://api.groq.com/openai/v1 with a Groq API key; the /openai/v1/models endpoint lists active models; some advanced OpenAI features are not yet supported.

Documentationread2026-07-25

Groq supported-models docs list the served open-weight catalogue (Llama 3.1 8B, Llama 3.3 70B, gpt-oss 20B/120B, Qwen3, Gemma, Mixtral, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B) plus Whisper speech-to-text.

Documentationread2026-07-25

Groq model-deprecation docs: Groq gives commercially reasonable prior notice, provides a migration path and recommended replacement for deprecated production models, may discontinue preview models at short notice, and offers a pro-rata refund for prepaid deprecated models left without an alternative.

Documentationread2026-07-25

Groq rate-limits docs: free/developer-tier quotas - e.g.

Terms of serviceunverified2026-07-25

Groq publishes an Acceptable Use & Responsible AI Policy governing permitted use of the Cloud Services; its clauses were not read in full this session.