AI Computer Startup Hits $4.5 Billion Valuation in Seed Round
Naveen Rao joins a rarified club of prominent tech founders to raise big funding rounds for very young companies.
Unconventional AI co-founders Sara Achour, from left, Naveen Rao, MeeLan Lee and Michael Carbin.
Source: Unconventional AI
A two-month-old startup from the former head of artificial intelligence at Databricks Inc. has raised a seed round of funding from investors at a valuation of $4.5 billion for its effort to build a novel, more energy-efficient computer for AI.
Unconventional AI raised $475 million in a deal co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, said Naveen Rao, who left Databricks in September and is chief executive officer of the startup. Other investors include Lux Capital and DCVC. Databricks and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also participated in the round, and Rao said he invested $10 million of his own funds at the same terms as other investors.