Naveen Rao, who was previously the top of synthetic intelligence at Databricks, is in talks to lift $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation for a brand new startup, known as Unconventional, Inc., that’s constructing a brand new sort of pc, in response to 4 folks accustomed to discussions. 

Andreessen Horowitz has agreed to steer the funding, and Lightspeed and Lux Capital are additionally collaborating within the deal, two of the sources mentioned, though none of these VC companies responded to our request for remark. Databricks can be mentioned to be investing in Rao’s new firm, Bloomberg reported final month. 

Rao has already raised lots of of tens of millions and plans to start constructing the startup with out ready for the total $1 billion spherical to shut, our sources mentioned. He plans to lift the remainder of the capital in installments, a funding strategy generally known as a “tranched” spherical. 

Rao declined to remark, though he did publicly acknowledge the new startup on X final week, confirming its identify and describing its hoped-for product as “rethinking the foundations of a pc to construct a brand new substrate for intelligence that’s as environment friendly as biology. Mind Scale Effectivity with out the organic baggage!”

Databricks acquired Rao’s earlier startup, MosaicML in 2023, for $1.3 billion. Based by Rao in 2020 with a deal with coaching and deploying massive AI fashions, MosaicML raised $33.7 million from traders, together with Lux Capital, DCVC, Playground International, and Samsung Subsequent, in response to PitchBook. Previous to MosaicML, Rao co-founded the machine studying platform Nervana Methods, which Intel Corp. acquired in 2016 for reportedly greater than $400 million. 

Rao, who spent over two years as VP of AI at Databricks (now valued at $100 billion and producing $4 billion in ARR), left the corporate final month to deal with his new startup, in response to his LinkedIn profile and earlier reporting by Bloomberg.

Our sources say Rao’s imaginative and prescient will basically compete with Nvidia by designing a novel AI machine that features each customized silicon chips and server infrastructure.