The Hardest Task for a Robot

Off the track he builds machines that learn, and he brings the same question to the car: where the limit is. In brief:

Neuro and CS. His X bio sums up the training: “Neuro + CS. I like to build stuff that will eventually learn how to build other stuff.”

Nervana. He co-founded and led Nervana Systems, an AI chip company Intel acquired. He went on to lead AI work at Intel.

MosaicML. He co-founded MosaicML to make training neural networks efficient. Databricks bought it in July 2023 for $1.3 billion, and he ran AI at Databricks until September 2025.

Unconventional AI. He left Databricks to start Unconventional AI, which is building a more energy-efficient computer for AI. In December 2025 Bloomberg reported a $475 million seed round.

He doesn’t keep the two worlds apart. In a 2020 reply on X he wrote: “Yup, absolutely! I use racing as an analogy for things in business, technology, and life”

In 2019 he moved to prototypes, racing LMP3 cars in the IMSA Prototype Challenge with K2R Motorsports and Matthew Bell. In 2020 they finished on the podium in every race but one, won at Virginia International Raceway and took the title by winning the final at Road Atlanta.

That last race was tense. Bell had to pit late for tires and slid off course close to the barrier, while Rao watched from pit lane. “Frankly, it never goes how you think it’s going to,” he told IMSA. “Matt had to deal with some tire things but kept it right in front and managed the pace.” On the title: “It’s awesome, it’s amazing. This is what we were hoping to do from the beginning. … This is wonderful.”

Then came LMP2, first at Sebring with Inter Europol Competition. “It’s much faster than the LMP3s that I was driving last year mostly,” he told Autocar India, “much more downforce, better brakes, everything is just a step up. So, for me it’s like a new challenge and I look forward to getting more time in it.”

The endurance races take a toll, and he posts the evidence. After Sepang in the Asian Le Mans Series in December 2024: “This was one hot race! I almost passed out after getting out of the car”. After the Rolex 24 in January 2026: “This is what happens when you do a 24 hour car race lol”. After Sebring in March: “This is what happens when you go 3h 21m around @sebringraceway for the Sebring 12h race:”

He builds machines that learn, so he gets asked whether machines will take over driving too. In June 2026 he answered on X, in a thread with @Scobleizer:

Racing robots is fun as an engineering competition...sure. But it's not the same as a human performance sport. … I think it's a worthy effort to make robots solve very hard problems (driving a race car at the limit is actually one of the hardest task for a robot to perform at top human level), but it's still not a sport.

He doesn’t claim the human will always be faster. “I’ve never seen a robot beat a pro driver on a track. But that’s besides the point….i have no doubt that machines will be able to drive faster than a human at some point. Still not a sport.”

What makes it a sport, for him, is the cost to the driver. When @bryan_johnson posted that race car drivers are elite athletes, he replied: “Can’t disagree with that. And most people have no idea how taxing physically and mentally racing can be”.

He wants the cars to stay a test of the person, too. In March 2026, on the newest prototype classes: “Make the car fast, light, and a test of driving skill. Make it safe and efficient to modernize”.

He made his Le Mans debut in June 2024 in COOL Racing’s No. 47 Oreca 07, sharing it with Matthew Bell, his co-driver since the LMP3 years, and Frederik Vesti. They finished 5th in LMP2 Pro/Am and 24th overall after 291 laps.

He went back in 2025 with Nielsen Racing’s No. 24 Oreca, with Cem Bolukbasi and Colin Braun. That race ended early, after 170 laps, with an off at Tertre Rouge.

In 2026 he raced IMSA’s LMP2 class with Era Motorsport, starting at the Rolex 24 in the No. 18 Oreca 07. The season ended at Road Atlanta, where he won his title six years earlier, with a podium at Petit Le Mans. He posted: “A great way to end the season...with a podium at Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta!”

He is not the only founder out there. When @dhh posted about tech bros that October, Rao replied: “Tech bro racing club FTW!”

A week after Petit Le Mans he was in Portugal, at the European Le Mans Series rookie test at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, driving Nielsen Racing’s No. 27 Oreca 07. He posted:

Happy days in a race car! It was a lot of fun driving @CircuitPortimao finally…the “Roller Coaster” is something to be experienced!

That is the case he makes for racing. He started in his forties, worked up from Ferrari Challenge to LMP3 to LMP2, and kept finding new tracks to learn. Machines may one day drive them faster. He still wants to be the one in the car.

The hardest task for a robot.