Naveen Rao

VP of AI at Databricks

Naveen Rao is a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence and currently serves as the VP of Generative AI at Databricks, a position he has held since July 2023.1 His career is characterized by a unique blend of neuroscience, entrepreneurship, and technology leadership.

Career Highlights

Entrepreneurial Ventures: Rao has a strong track record as an entrepreneur in the AI space. He co-founded and served as CEO of MosaicML from January 2021 to July 2023, which was subsequently acquired by Databricks.1 Prior to this, he founded Nervana, an AI chip company, where he was CEO from February 2014 until its acquisition by Intel in August 2016.1

Corporate Leadership: Following the acquisition of Nervana, Rao held significant positions at Intel:

Corporate VP and General Manager of Artificial Intelligence Products Group (May 2017 - March 2020)
Vice President and General Manager (August 2016 - May 2017)1

Board Memberships: Rao's expertise is sought after in advisory roles. He currently serves on the boards of several technology companies:

Beacon Biosignals (since November 2019)
NeuReality (since September 2020)
Luminous Computing (since February 2022)1

Academic Background

While his LinkedIn profile doesn't detail his educational background, Rao's career trajectory suggests a strong foundation in neuroscience and computer engineering. His early career includes a position as a postdoctoral research associate in Neuroscience at Brown University.1

Current Focus

At Databricks, Rao is driving state-of-the-art capabilities in AI for enterprise applications. His work involves leveraging Databricks' infrastructure in data security, governance, and preprocessing to develop large-scale AI models.1 He is actively involved in expanding AI solutions and is currently hiring for his team.1

Rao is also known for his insights on the future of AI. He has discussed trends for 2025, including the shift from monolithic models to compound AI systems, increased focus on observability and evaluations, and the development of viable AI agents.2