Groq just announced Compound is now generally available to everyone.
The chief architect is not who you might expect.
It is a Stanford sophomore who went from viral GitHub apps to leading Groq's agent product in under a year.
This is the story of how @benklieger built the most exciting agentic architecture available today. 🧵
The chief architect is not who you might expect.
It is a Stanford sophomore who went from viral GitHub apps to leading Groq's agent product in under a year.
This is the story of how @benklieger built the most exciting agentic architecture available today. 🧵
2/
Ben’s journey to Compound started early.
In school, he spent his time building. Social platforms and trade tools, experiments that taught him a deeper truth: The most intelligent systems are defined by making the right decisions at the right time.
Ben’s journey to Compound started early.
In school, he spent his time building. Social platforms and trade tools, experiments that taught him a deeper truth: The most intelligent systems are defined by making the right decisions at the right time.
3/
During that time, he built his second startup: a writing app called Clara. He noticed the problem for students wasn’t writing essays. It was learning reflective and logical thinking.
Clara lived in Google Docs, asking Socratic questions. When it was acquired, Ben saw AI as a force multiplier for tools.
During that time, he built his second startup: a writing app called Clara. He noticed the problem for students wasn’t writing essays. It was learning reflective and logical thinking.
Clara lived in Google Docs, asking Socratic questions. When it was acquired, Ben saw AI as a force multiplier for tools.
4/
In 2024, he witnessed Groq speed firsthand. He assumed someone would build an instant book generator on top of it.
He waited. Nobody did.
So he launched Infinite Bookshelf: give a topic and a 15-page book appeared in seconds. The breakthrough showed Groq speed could unlock new paradigms.
In 2024, he witnessed Groq speed firsthand. He assumed someone would build an instant book generator on top of it.
He waited. Nobody did.
So he launched Infinite Bookshelf: give a topic and a 15-page book appeared in seconds. The breakthrough showed Groq speed could unlock new paradigms.
5/
Groq noticed Ben’s work. How could they not?
When they reached out, Ben showed up to the meeting with live demos instead of a résumé.
He left with an internship and a mandate.
Within six months his projects had over tripled the number of stars on Groq GitHub projects.
Groq noticed Ben’s work. How could they not?
When they reached out, Ben showed up to the meeting with live demos instead of a résumé.
He left with an internship and a mandate.
Within six months his projects had over tripled the number of stars on Groq GitHub projects.
6/
He learned AI wasn’t just about answering faster, but about creating systems that could handle complexity and scale.
Ben wanted to prove that the next generation of AI could go further than anyone thought possible.
And he wanted to show Groq could be the one to build it.
He learned AI wasn’t just about answering faster, but about creating systems that could handle complexity and scale.
Ben wanted to prove that the next generation of AI could go further than anyone thought possible.
And he wanted to show Groq could be the one to build it.
7/
Then came what he called g1, built within 24 hours of OpenAI’s o1-preview.
It was a Groq-powered reasoning app with a clean interface that could chain steps, call tools, and show its work.
It hit 4,000 GitHub stars, far more than any Groq repo had ever received.
Then came what he called g1, built within 24 hours of OpenAI’s o1-preview.
It was a Groq-powered reasoning app with a clean interface that could chain steps, call tools, and show its work.
It hit 4,000 GitHub stars, far more than any Groq repo had ever received.
8/
By late 2024, every lab had begun to build compound AI systems that execute tools like search and code. Models were becoming agents. But Ben noticed they were expensive and slow.
By late 2024, every lab had begun to build compound AI systems that execute tools like search and code. Models were becoming agents. But Ben noticed they were expensive and slow.
9/
Latency kills agents.
Every tool call, every context switch, every decision added seconds that stacked into unusable experiences.
The solution was not better prompts, it was better architecture.
Latency kills agents.
Every tool call, every context switch, every decision added seconds that stacked into unusable experiences.
The solution was not better prompts, it was better architecture.
10/
When asked to host g1 and pair it with tools, Ben saw an opportunity. Instead of sending every request over distant APIs, server-side tools ran close to inference.
Model routing ensured the best models were used. This is where Compound emerged.
When asked to host g1 and pair it with tools, Ben saw an opportunity. Instead of sending every request over distant APIs, server-side tools ran close to inference.
Model routing ensured the best models were used. This is where Compound emerged.
11/
Ben was promoted to Compound AI Lead and put in charge of the product. The Compound team grew. Iteration with users made it stronger.
Median search latency was cut in half. Quality improved. New capabilities like charting were added. Open-source models kept costs low.
Ben was promoted to Compound AI Lead and put in charge of the product. The Compound team grew. Iteration with users made it stronger.
Median search latency was cut in half. Quality improved. New capabilities like charting were added. Open-source models kept costs low.
12/
Adoption followed quickly.
Compound Beta became default in GroqChat. Over 100,000 developers used it. Over 5 million requests were serviced.
Adoption followed quickly.
Compound Beta became default in GroqChat. Over 100,000 developers used it. Over 5 million requests were serviced.
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Groq making Compound generally available is a turning point for agentic AI.
With Compound, tool use, reasoning, and real-time knowledge run together in a system fast and reliable enough for production and scale.
It exists because of Ben’s journey to build what was missing.
Groq making Compound generally available is a turning point for agentic AI.
With Compound, tool use, reasoning, and real-time knowledge run together in a system fast and reliable enough for production and scale.
It exists because of Ben’s journey to build what was missing.
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Try Compound today to experience the next generation of agents in action.
🔗 chat.groq.com
💻 github.com/groq
👤 @benklieger
Try Compound today to experience the next generation of agents in action.
🔗 chat.groq.com
💻 github.com/groq
👤 @benklieger
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