Naveen Rao, the former head of AI at Databricks, has raised $475 million in seed capital at a $4.5 billion valuation for his new startup, Unconventional AI.

The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Ventures, with participation from Lux Capital and DCVC. The funding is a first installment towards the goal of up to $1 billion for the round, Rao told Bloomberg .

TechCrunch was first to report, back in October, that Unconventional AI was seeking this mega funding for Rao’s new startup, although the final valuation is marginally lower than the $5 billion sources told us he was seeking. If he does eventually raise as much as $1 billion, we’ll see how that impacts his company’s value.

Unconventional AI is set on building a new, energy-efficient computer for AI. Rao has previ

See Full Page