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The 80-Year Bet: Why Naveen Rao Is Rebuilding the Computer from Scratch

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The 80-Year Bet: Why Naveen Rao Is Rebuilding the Computer from Scratch

The a16z Show

2025/12/08
The a16z Show

The a16z Show

2025/12/08
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Naveen Rao is cofounder and CEO of Unconventional AI, an AI chip startup building analog computing systems designed specifically for intelligence. Previously, Naveen led AI at Databricks and founded two successful companies: Mosaic (cloud computing) and Ne...

Highlights

At NeurIPS, Matt Bornstein sits down with Naveen Rao, a seasoned entrepreneur and former AI leader at Databricks, to explore a bold reimagining of computing for artificial intelligence. With decades of experience in cloud infrastructure and AI accelerators, Rao is now betting on a radical shift—away from traditional digital chips and toward analog systems that mirror the brain’s energy-efficient design.
05:05
Analog computing uses the physics of the medium and is inherently more efficient.
12:44
Brains integrate multiple inputs accurately even in noisy, real-world conditions
15:23
Children have an innate understanding of causality that current AI lacks.
23:23
The first chip prototype will likely be one of the largest analog chips ever built.
25:45
Working in a startup early allows exposure to various aspects of the business and builds multi-domain competence

Chapters

What if Computing Was Built for Intelligence, Not Just Logic?
00:00
Can We Build AI That Doesn’t Drain the Grid?
10:11
Why Don’t Today’s AI Models Understand Cause and Effect?
15:23
How Do You Build the World’s Largest Analog Chip—and Convince Anyone It’s Possible?
20:49
What Does It Take to Empower the Next Generation of Innovators?
25:45

Transcript

Naveen Rao: I think AI is the next evolution of humanity. I think it takes us to a new level, allows us to collaborate and understand the world in much deeper ways. Speaker 3: Naveen Rao, here's an expert in AI. Naveen Rao: Naveen Rao, probably one of th...