Former Databricks Chief AI Officer Naveen Rao announced that his new startup, Unconventional AI, has completed a $475 million seed round, with the company's valuation reaching $4.5 billion. The round was led by prominent investment firms Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Ventures, with additional participation from Lux Capital and DCVC. Rao stated that this funding is the first part of a planned total fundraising of $1 billion.

Earlier in October, TechCrunch reported that Unconventional AI was seeking this large sum of money, although the final valuation was slightly lower than the previously rumored $5 billion. If Rao successfully raises a total of $1 billion in subsequent financing, it will have a significant impact on the company's value.

Unconventional AI is dedicated to developing a new type of high-efficiency artificial intelligence computer. Rao expressed his vision on the social platform X, hoping to create a computer as efficient as a living organism. This goal not only reflects his passion for technological innovation but also demonstrates his extensive experience in the field of artificial intelligence.

Notably, Rao sold his previous startup MosaicML to Databricks for $1.3 billion in 2023. Before that, he co-founded the machine learning platform Nervana Systems, which was acquired by Intel for more than $400 million in 2016.

Key Points:   

🚀 Naveen Rao's new startup, Unconventional AI, has secured a $475 million seed round, with a valuation of $4.5 billion.   

💰 The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Ventures, with a planned total fundraising of $1 billion.   

🌱 Unconventional AI aims to develop an AI computer with extremely high energy efficiency, pursuing the perfect combination of technology and biological efficiency.