Key facts
- Unconventional AI is acquiring Israeli chip startup NeuReality.
- The deal is expected to accelerate Unconventional AI's product development.
- NeuReality has experience in delivering finished AI chips.
- Unconventional AI will maintain a presence in Israel.
- About 40 people will join Unconventional AI as part of the deal.
Unconventional AI, a US hardware startup that launched less than a year ago with a $4.5 billion valuation, is acquiring Israeli chip startup NeuReality for an undisclosed sum in a cash-and-stock deal. The acquisition aims to accelerate Unconventional AI's product development by leveraging NeuReality's expertise in delivering finished AI chips. Unconventional AI, led by Naveen Rao, aims to develop AI chips that are 1,000 times more energy efficient than current offerings by using concepts from biological systems. The company has already developed its first test chip and is nearing completion of its second, prompting the search for an experienced engineering team. NeuReality was founded in 2019 by Moshe Tanach, Tzvika Shmueli, and Yossi Kasus and has developed several advanced AI chips.