Naveen Rao, who previously led artificial intelligence efforts at Databricks, is reportedly seeking to secure $1 billion in funding for his new venture, Unconventional, Inc., which is developing an innovative computing platform, according to four individuals familiar with the matter.
According to two sources, Andreessen Horowitz has committed to spearheading the investment, with Lightspeed and Lux Capital also joining the round, though none of these venture capital firms responded to our inquiries. Bloomberg reported last month that Databricks is also investing in Rao’s latest company.
Sources indicate that Rao has already secured several hundred million dollars and intends to start building the company before the full $1 billion round is finalized. He plans to raise the remaining funds in phases, a strategy commonly known as a “tranched” round.
Rao declined to provide a statement, but he did confirm the existence of the new company on X last week, revealing its name and describing its mission as “reimagining the core of computing to create a new foundation for intelligence that matches the efficiency of biological systems. Achieving Brain Scale Efficiency without the constraints of biology!”
Databricks purchased Rao’s earlier company, MosaicML, in 2023 for $1.3 billion. Rao established MosaicML in 2020 to focus on developing and deploying large-scale AI models, raising $33.7 million from backers such as Lux Capital, DCVC, Playground Global, and Samsung Next, according to PitchBook. Before MosaicML, Rao co-founded Nervana Systems, a machine learning platform that Intel Corp. acquired in 2016 for more than $400 million.
Rao, who served as Databricks’ VP of AI for over two years—during which the company reached a $100 billion valuation and $4 billion in annual recurring revenue—departed last month to dedicate himself to his new venture, as confirmed by his LinkedIn and previous Bloomberg coverage.
According to our sources, Rao’s ambitious project aims to rival Nvidia by developing a groundbreaking AI system that integrates proprietary silicon chips with server infrastructure.
