All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

Naveen Rao: 4D Computing, AI's Energy Wall & Beating Biology

September 22, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Naveen Rao, a neuroscientist and serial entrepreneur who founded the first AI chip company in 2014, has a new startup called Unconventional AI. Its ambition is nothing less than to rethink the fundamental architecture of the computer — and to do so in a way that would make AI a thousand times more power-efficient within three and a half years. The kicker: he just built the first physical prototype, and it works.

The Energy Wall Is Three Years Away

Rao’s central argument is that AI is about to hit a physical limit that no amount of software optimization can fix. The problem is energy. He gives a striking example: Google alone processes 3.2 quadrillion tokens per month. At a conservative 10 joules per token, that is 12 gigawatts of power — nearly a third of the entire U.S. data center capacity of 40 gigawatts. The world’s total data center energy is under 100 gigawatts. If model sizes and demand continue to grow exponentially, Rao estimates we will run out of usable energy in roughly three years.

“First, you think about energy,” Rao says of the current data center mindset. “I get the contract, and then I have to figure out how to fill it.” He notes that 50% of the cost of serving a single token from ChatGPT is energy. The rest is hardware capex. The business case for his new architecture is simple: monetize that power contract a thousand times better.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Introduction and Background** - Naveen Rao, co-founder and CEO of Unconventional AI, is introduced as an "anti-doomer" who believes AI is a transformational technology for humanity.
  • 2 (03:28) **The Energy Problem in AI** - Rao explains why energy is the critical bottleneck for AI scaling, using Google's token processing as a case study.
  • 3 (07:11) **Biology as Proof of Concept** - Rao uses biological brains to demonstrate that vast intelligence is possible at minuscule power levels.
  • 4 (08:16) **The Root Cause of Inefficiency: Information Movement** - Rao identifies moving data between memory and compute as the dominant energy cost in modern computers.
  • 5 (10:23) **The Solution: Cutting Out Abstractions** - Rao explains how Unconventional AI removes lossy digital abstractions to connect physics directly to neural networks.
  • 6 (12:04) **The Metronome Analogy** - Rao illustrates dynamical computing with a physical example: synchronized metronomes on a rolling plank.
  • 7 (13:15) **Proof of Concept: Uno Model** - Rao describes releasing an open-source image generation model built on oscillators, proving the concept works.

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Show Notes

(0:00) Welcome Naveen Rao

(4:45) Is energy really the problem? The cost of a token, power contracts & the gap to close

(10:24) Cutting out the middleman: abstractions, dynamical systems & a new kind of machine

(19:46) Chamath joins: the path to product, porting existing models & building the team

 

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IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud platform, delivering data centers, compute and software for AI training and inference. https://iren.com/

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EY helps tech innovators scale from startup to exit to megacap. You build the future. We'll handle the rest. http://www.ey.com

Meta believes the future is for everyone. We're focused on giving every person the tools to reach their full potential and making sure the benefits of technology are distributed to all. http://www.meta.com

Keel Infrastructure owns the power, land, and connectivity that HPC and AI run on - backed by secured energy assets and established grid interconnections across North America. https://keelinfra.com/

Airwallex - Agentic Global Business Accounts. Open local accounts in 70+ countries to accept payments, earn yield, pay globally, and manage spend. http://airwallex.com

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Explore ideas, industries, and technologies worth understanding with Chamath every week on Learn with Me: https://research.socialcapital.com/allin

 

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