Naveen Rao, the former Head of Artificial Intelligence at Databricks, is making headlines with his new venture, Unconventional Inc., which is reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation. The funding round is being led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lux Capital, while Databricks itself is said to be investing — signaling strong confidence from both established investors and industry peers.
According to sources, Rao has already secured hundreds of millions and intends to begin building immediately rather than waiting for the full round to close. The company plans to adopt a tranched funding model, raising capital in stages to maintain flexibility as its technology and strategy evolve. This approach reflects the urgency and ambition behind Unconventional’s mission to develop what Rao describes as a new kind of computer — one designed to rethink how intelligence is computed.
While Rao declined to comment publicly on the fundraising details, he recently confirmed the venture’s name and vision on X, writing that Unconventional Inc. is focused on “rethinking the foundations of a computer to build a new substrate for intelligence that is as efficient as biology. Brain Scale Efficiency without the biological baggage.”
Rao’s track record lends credibility to his ambitious new project. He previously founded MosaicML in 2020, a company focused on optimizing large AI model training and deployment, which Databricks acquired in 2023 for $1.3 billion. Before that, he co-founded Nervana Systems, acquired by Intel in 2016 for over $400 million.
With Unconventional Inc., Rao aims to take on tech giants like Nvidia by creating novel AI machines powered by custom silicon chips and advanced server infrastructure. His goal: to bridge the gap between computational efficiency and biological intelligence — unlocking a new era of machine learning performance.
If successful, Unconventional could redefine the architecture of AI hardware and push the boundaries of computing as we know it, potentially positioning Rao once again at the forefront of the next great leap in artificial intelligence innovation.
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