Naveen Rao's Unconventional AI Debuts Oscillator-Based Models as Nigeria Stands Up $7.5M AI Hub
Unconventional AI, the startup led by former Intel AI platforms executive Naveen Rao, debuted its Un-0 model series, a neural network family optimized to run on oscillators rather than standard transistor-based circuits, according to Siliconangle. The company, which raised $475 million in December from a consortium that included Jeff Bezos, released six models that generate images using thousands of simulated oscillators, the smallest comprising 1,024 virtual devices, part of its push toward far more power-efficient AI hardware.
Nigeria's Federal Government inaugurated the Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Scaling Hub alongside a Scaling AI for Development Challenge, backed by a $7.5 million, three-year commitment from the Gates Foundation, per Summitpost News. Communications Minister Bosun Tijani said the fund will provide technical assistance, computing infrastructure, and policy support to move AI innovations beyond pilot stages into nationwide implementation, with healthcare, education, and agriculture as priorities.
Digital Journal reported that Canadians remain cautious about handing the C-suite to algorithms: survey data suggests that while businesses embrace AI to enhance decision-making, the public resists the idea of machines occupying executive roles such as CEO, CFO, or CIO, a divide the outlet frames as a matter of trust and accountability rather than technical capability.
And in a related governance push, Nigeria's National Information Technology Development Agency and Meta deepened their partnership on youth online safety at a summit in Abuja, launching a Youth Online Safety Campaign and the My Digital World 2.0 initiative alongside the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, per Cyber Era: Catalyzing The Digital Economy.
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