Sources: Naveen Rao’s new AI hardware startup targets $5B valuation with backing from a16z 

Navin Rao, who was formerly the head of artificial intelligence in Databricks, is holding a billion dollars to raise $ 5 billion for a new start -up company called Incunvenal, Inc. , Which you build a new type of computer, according to four people familiar with discussions.

Two of the sources said that Andressen Horowitz agreed to lead the investment, and Lightspeed and Lux ​​Capital participated in the deal. Bloomberg reported that Databricks is investing in the new RAO company.

Our sources said that Rao has already raised hundreds of millions and plans to start building the startup without waiting for the full round of one billion dollars to close it. He plans to raise the rest of the capital in installments, a funding approach referred to as a “farm” tour.

Rao refused to comment, although he publicly admitted the new start in X last week, confirming his name and describing his desired product as “rethinking the foundations of the computer to build a new pillar of intelligence effective such as the efficiency of the brain scale without biological luggage!”

Databricks acquired the start of the previous RAO, Mosaicml in 2023, for $ 1.3 billion. Mosaicml was collected by RAO in 2020 with a focus on training and publishing large AI models, Mosaicml raised $ 33.7 million of investors, including Lux Capital, DCVC, Playground Global and Samsung Next, according to the stadium writer. Before Mosaicml, Rao participated in establishing the Nervana Systems, which was acquired by Intel Corp in 2016 for more than $ 400 million.

RAO, who spent more than two years the vice president of artificial intelligence in Databrics ($ 100 billion now and generating $ 4 billion in ARR), left the company last month to focus on the new start starting, according to his personal file LinkedIn and reported earlier by Bloomberg.

Our sources say that Rao’s vision will mainly compete with NVIDIA by designing a new AI machine that includes both custom silicon chips and server infrastructure.