Databricks Invests in Naveen Rao’s New AI Hardware Startup

Ali Ghodsi, CEO and Co-Founder of Databricks, announced in a LinkedIn post on September 13 that the company is investing in a new AI hardware startup launched by Naveen Rao, former vice president of AI at Databricks.

Details of the company’s name, funding size, and product roadmap have not been disclosed yet.

“Over six months ago, Naveen Rao and I started discussing the potential to have a massive impact on the world of AI,” Ghodsi wrote. “Today, I’m excited to share that Naveen Rao is starting a company that I think has the potential to revolutionise the AI hardware space in fundamental ways.”

Rao, who previously founded Nervana (acquired by Intel) and MosaicML (acquired by Databricks), said the new project will focus on energy-efficient computing for AI. 

“The new project is about rethinking the foundations of compute with respect to AI to build a new machine that is vastly more power efficient. Brain Scale Efficiency!” he said.

Ghodsi highlighted Rao’s track record in entrepreneurship and his contributions at Databricks. “If anyone can pull this off, it’s Naveen,” he noted, adding that Rao will continue advising Databricks while leading the new venture.

Databricks has closed a $10 billion Series J funding round, raising its valuation to $62 billion. The company’s revenue is approaching a $3 billion annual run rate, with forecasts indicating it could turn free cash flow positive by late 2024.

Growth is being fueled by strong adoption of the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, which integrates generative AI accelerators. The platform is seeing rapid uptake across enterprises, positioning Databricks as one of the leading players in the enterprise AI stack.

Rao described the move as an example of Databricks supporting innovation in the AI ecosystem. “I’m very proud of all the work we did at Mosaic and Databricks and love to see how Databricks will be driving the frontier of AI in the enterprise,” he said.