"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."
"As demand for AI in particular large language models, which power chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT skyrocketed over the past three years, the industry has largely bet on the idea of so-called scaling laws. Scaling laws hold that more computing power, data and larger models will inevitably pave the way for greater leaps forward in AI capabilities. But if demand continues to rise, computing and energy sources will continue to be constrained."
Unconventional AI raised $475 million at a $4.5 billion valuation to develop a novel, more energy-efficient computer tailored for AI workloads. The seed round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Lux Capital, DCVC, Databricks and Jeff Bezos; CEO Naveen Rao invested $10 million personally. The funding represents the first portion of up to $1 billion in planned financing. The company intends to address limits posed by scaling laws by rethinking computer architectures to scale within energy constraints. The design draws inspiration from biology and emphasizes analog computing origins and brain-like efficiency.
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