Use · Groq

Is it good enough?

Ownership levelSubstantialnone·limited·partial·substantial·fullAnalytical input B · 70/100

This page is a projection of the one entry record, the Doesn't fail you factor that Use covers. The full verdict is set by all four factors together, floor-weighted so the weakest caps the whole.

Which domain expands which factor

AssessUse & modify + Transparency
ImplementData control + Doesn't fail you
UseDoesn't fail you
SupportTransparency

Models served

Groq's supported-models docs list a curated open-weight catalogue, narrower than the general-purpose GPU providers:

Llama 3.1 8B Instant
Llama 3.3 70B Versatile
gpt-oss 20B / 120B (plus gpt-oss-safeguard)
Qwen3
Gemma
Mixtral
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Whisper (speech-to-text)

The trade is deliberate: fewer models, but each run on LPU hardware for latency. If your workload needs full DeepSeek / GLM / Mistral or arbitrary fine-tunes, confirm coverage before committing.

Inference features

The endpoints are OpenAI-compatible chat/completions on low-latency LPU hardware, though the docs note some advanced OpenAI features are not yet supported. Higher-level behaviours such as tool/function calling and structured (JSON) output depend on the specific served model's own capabilities - see each model's entry in this library - and were not individually re-verified on Groq's endpoints this session, so treat per-feature support as "inherited from the model, confirm per model."

Fine-tuning / custom models

Groq exposes a fine-tuning feature, and its data-handling terms are documented in the your-data docs and Services Agreement: it retains weights and datasets until the customer deletes them, stored in US GCP buckets. What is not captured this session is the feature's scope - the supported methods, dataset formats, and which base models can be tuned - so confirm those specifics before planning a custom-model workflow.

How this scores

The ownership factor this domain covers, drawn from the one entry record.

Doesn't fail youDoes 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 this session.

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 this session.

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 - the DPA and BAA were read this session.

What this means for adoptionYou substantially own low-latency inference here: the Groq Services Agreement and your-data docs - actually read this session - 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.

Sources

The same evidence records as the entry sheet. Read means the text was verified; unverified means it is known to exist but not yet read.

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 serviceread2026-07-25

Groq Services Agreement: Customer retains all Intellectual Property Rights in Customer Data (including Inputs and Outputs); Groq will never access Customer Data for training and is not permitted to use Inputs/Outputs to train or fine-tune models; Groq does not access, use, store or retain Inputs/Outputs except as necessary to provide the Cloud Services; on termination Customer Data is deleted within 30 days; eligible customers may enable zero data retention in the Console.

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.