The a16z Show The 80-Year Bet: Why Naveen Rao Is Rebuilding the Computer from Scratch
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Dec 8, 2025 
Naveen Rao, cofounder and CEO of Unconventional AI, is a visionary in the realm of AI chips and analog computing. He discusses why the 80 years of digital computing may not suffice for AI's future, emphasizing that the brain operates on just 20 watts, contrasting sharply with data centers' massive energy consumption. Naveen explores the physics of causality, arguing for the potential of dynamic analog systems to drive advancements toward AGI. He also shares insights on partnerships with tech giants and the ambitious goal of changing computing paradigms for a sustainable AI future.
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From Video Compression To Neuroscience
- Naveen describes his early career building hardware for real-time tasks like video compression and shrinking algorithms into devices.
- Those experiences shaped his full-stack view across silicon, systems software, and applications.
Digital Was Chosen For Scale, Not Intelligence
- Digital computers evolved for reliable, general numeric computation, not for stochastic intelligence tasks.
- Analog substrates can use physics directly and may match intelligence's dynamic, time-based nature more efficiently.
Brains Are Physics-First Computers
- Brains implement computation physically, so there is no separation between representation and physics.
- That tight coupling yields extreme energy efficiency and dynamic behavior that digital abstractions lose.