🎙️ podcast Analysis December 08, 2025 a16z Show by Andreessen Horowitz

The Physics Rebellion: Why 80 Years of Digital Computing May Be the Wrong Substrate for Intelligence

Semiconductor Manufacturing Analog Circuit Design AI Hardware
Tickers
2 Picks
Conviction MEDIUM
Risk Profile 2.4/10 (MODERATE RISK)
Horizon 5-10 years

Executive Summary

Naveen Rao, founder of Unconventional AI and former Intel executive, presents a radical thesis: the digital computing paradigm that has dominated for 80 years is fundamentally mismatched for artificial intelligence workloads. His argument centers on a stark energy efficiency gap—human brains operate on 20 watts while AI data centers now consume 4% of the US power grid, with demand requiring 400 additional gigawatts over the next decade. Rao's solution involves analog computing systems that mirro...

Key Investment Opportunity

The Manufacturing Moat: TSMC as the Analog AI Foundry

TSMC's advanced manufacturing capabilities position them as the critical partner for next-generation analog AI chips. Rao explicitly identifies TSMC as essential for scaling analog computing, noting they 'met with them recently' and need to 'work closely with them.' As the industry explores alternat...

...and 1 more investment opportunities

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