The a16z Podcast discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This podcast is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!
What happens when two of the biggest tech waves—AI and crypto—start to converge? In this LP Summit conversation, a16z General Partners Chris Dixon and David George explore how stablecoins are creating a new global financial layer, why generative AI is reshaping market structures, and how the next tech giants will be built. From network effects to native AI business models, this is a sharp look at the future of innovation and investing. Resources: Find Chris on X: https://x.com/cdixon Find David ...
In this episode a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz sit down with legendary music producer and bestselling author Rick Rubin to explore the origin of his unexpected new creation: "The Way of Code"* Blending ancient philosophy and modern AI, The Way of Code reimagines the 3,000-year-old Tao Te Ching for the age of artificial intelligence, software, and “vibe coding.” What began as a viral tweet quickly evolved into a creative manifesto—part book, part tool, part spiritual operating ...
AI’s breakout moment is here - but where is the real value accruing, and what’s just hype? Recorded live at a16z’s annual LP Summit, General Partners Erik Torenberg, Martin Casado, and Sarah Wang unpack the current state of play in AI. From the myth of the GPT wrapper to the rapid rise of apps like Cursor, the conversation explores where defensibility is emerging, how platform shifts mirror (and diverge from) past tech cycles, and why the zero-sum mindset falls short in today’s AI landscape. The...
What happens when AI stops being just infrastructure—and becomes a matter of national identity and global power? In this episode, a16z’s Anjney Midha and Guido Appenzeller explore the rise of sovereign AI—the idea that countries must own their own AI models, data centers, and value systems. From Saudi Arabia’s $100B+ AI ambitions to the cultural stakes of model alignment, we examine: Why nations are building local “AI factories” instead of relying on U.S. cloud providers How foundation models ar...
What exactly is an AI agent — and does anyone actually agree? In this episode, taken from of AI + a16z , General Partner Guido Appenzeller and partners Matt Bornstein and Yoko Li break down one of the most hyped- and most hotly debated 0 concepts in AI right now: agents. Are agents just clever wrappers around LLMs? Tools that can reason and act? Or simply a fresh label for familiar tech? Whether you're building, investing, or just trying to make sense of the buzz, this episode is for you. Resour...
Recorded live at the 2025 a16z LP Summit, this episode is a candid conversation between a16z cofounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz—hosted by general partner Erik Torenberg. They cover the evolution of a16z from startup firm to multi-practice platform, how the media landscape is shaped by meme-speed narratives, why reorgs—not just returns—determine who wins, and what it takes to build an enduring venture franchise. They also share thoughts on the changing policy landscape for AI and crypto,...
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is a $300 billion industry powering the back- and front-office operations of the world’s largest companies. In her article, "Unbundling the BPO: How AI Will Disrupt Outsourced Work," Kimberly Tan (Partner, a16z) explores how the rise of AI is challenging the status quo. In this episode, Kimberly unpacks the shift—from call centers and invoice processing to cross-system automation and coding agents. They explore how AI is redefining the economics of scale, unloc...
Marc Andreessen discusses the AI era, drawing parallels and distinctions from the dot-com boom, emphasizing the importance of open-source AI and American dynamism. He touches on venture capital's evolution, A16Z's role, and offers advice for future entrepreneurs, highlighting quality and adaptability. The episode also explores the responsibility of venture capitalists and A16Z's brand evolution.
Dr. Eric Topol discusses preventive healthcare and longevity science, emphasizing the importance of understanding the biology of aging to prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative conditions. He covers AI-powered risk prediction, organ clocks, and lifestyle changes to promote healthspan, advocating for a shift from a "sick care" system to one focused on precision prevention. The conversation explores the potential of data, personalized medicine, and AI to extend healthy years and make these benefits accessible to everyone.
In this episode of th a16z Podcast, we’re sharing Katherine Boyle’s recent interview on TBPN. Katherine—General Partner at a16z and the architect of the American Dynamism thesis—joins hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays to discuss the state of the movement today. They cover the Department of Defense’s sweeping reform efforts, the role of startups in national security, and why American Dynamism is just getting started. From procurement reform to reindustrialization, this wide-ranging conversation ex...
Your ideal customer profile (ICP) is the north star for your entire company: it determines who you’re building for and selling to. Though most growth-stage founders think they know who their ICP is, very few know how to update and refine it to keep the company focused as they grow—which can lead to a lot of headaches down the road. In this debut episode of a16z Growth’s new company scaling podcast, the a16z Guide to Growth , a16z's Joe Morrissey (General Partner, a16z Growth), Michael King (Part...
Today’s critical infrastructure—air traffic, logistics, defense—is powered by legacy software. And that’s a problem. In this episode, recorded live at the a16z American Dynamism Summit, a16z partner Leila Hay sits down with Phillip Buckendorf, CEO of Air Space Intelligence, and Lt. Gen. Leonard J. Kosinski (Ret.), ASI’s Chief Strategy Officer and former Director for Logistics on the Joint Staff for the Pentagon. They explore why software is now a weapon system, how dual-use tech can harden both ...
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth discusses the future of consumer technology beyond smartphones, focusing on AI-powered interfaces and augmented reality. He explores how AI can revolutionize computing experiences, the challenges of building new hardware and interaction models, and the potential for AI to invert the traditional app model. Bosworth also addresses the risks of adoption, regulatory hurdles, and Meta's commitment to open-source AI development.
In today’s world, the battlefield extends far beyond war zones—it’s embedded in our tech stacks, supply chains, and airspace security systems. So who better to solve these modern challenges than those who’ve served on the front lines? Recorded live at the third annual American Dynamism Summit in Washington D.C., this episode features a16z’s Matt Shortal—a veteran himself—moderating a conversation with three founders who transitioned from military service to building cutting-edge defense startups...
War has always been shaped by technology—from steel and gunpowder to GPS and nuclear weapons. But the decisive technologies of tomorrow aren’t coming—they’re already here. In this episode, recorded live at our third annual American Dynamism Summit, a16z’s Senior National Security Advisor Matt Cronin sits down with Ryan Tseng (cofounder & CEO, Shield AI) and Adam Bry (cofounder & CEO, Skydio) to discuss the rise of autonomous drones, AI-driven warfare, and the escalating great power competition w...
When people think about startups working with the government, the phrase “black box” often comes up. But what if that box is finally being pried open? In this episode—recorded live at the American Dynamism Summit in DC—we talk with two Chief Technology Officers at the heart of American defense: Alex Miller, CTO for the Chief of Staff of the Army, and Justin Fanelli, CTO at the Department of the Navy. Along with a16z partner Leila Hay, they break down how the Department of Defense is shifting fro...
This month, a16z’s Consumer team released the fourth edition of the GenAI 100 — a data-driven ranking of the top 50 AI-first web products and mobile apps, based on unique monthly visits and active users. In just six months, the consumer AI landscape has shifted dramatically. Some products surged ahead, others plateaued, and a few unexpected players reshaped the leaderboard entirely. In this episode, a16z General Partner Anish Acharya and Partner Olivia Moore join us to unpack the latest rankings...
The global race for AI leadership is no longer just about companies—it’s about nations. AI isn’t just computing infrastructure; it’s cultural infrastructure, economic strategy, and national security all rolled into one. In this episode, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, and Arthur Mensch, cofounder and CEO of Mistral, sit down to discuss sovereign AI, national AI strategies, and why every country must take ownership of its digital intelligence. How AI will reshape global economies and GDP...
AI voice technology has been around for years — think Siri or Alexa — but the magic has been missing. That’s changing, and quickly! In this episode, Anish Acharya, General Partner at a16z, and Olivia Moore, Partner at a16z, explore why AI voice is reaching a breakthrough moment, how today’s models feel more human than ever, and why voice is poised to become the primary way people interact with AI. With businesses already making tens of thousands of AI-driven phone calls daily, AI-powered convers...
For over a century, the United States has been the birthplace of world-changing innovation – from the Wright brothers’ first flight to the invention of the transistor, the moon landing, and the birth of the internet. But in recent years, belief in American progress has wavered. Three years ago, a16z General Partner Katherine Boyle wrote a bold thesis called Building American Dynamism , challenging this apathy and calling for startups to tackle the country’s biggest problems. The idea spread fast...
Henry Ward, cofounder and CEO of Carta, has spent over a decade scaling his company from an early-stage startup to a 2,000-person industry leader. In this a16z Speedrun conversation with Games partner Josh Lu, Henry shares hard-earned lessons on: Hiring missionaries vs. mercenaries — and how to keep company culture intact as you scale The reality of product-market fit and why many founders try to sell too soon The evolution of a CEO — from building a product to building a system around you Input...
Being a creator in 2025 is tough—but building for creators is even harder. Perhaps no one understands this conundrum better than Scott Belsky. As the founder of Behance, a longtime executive at Adobe, and an advisor to companies like Pinterest and Atlassian, Scott has spent his career at the intersection of technology, design, and creativity. In this speedrun episode, recorded live in San Francisco during the fourth iteration of our a16z Games Speedrun program, we dive into: How AI can actually ...
Technology doesn’t grow in isolation—it evolves in waves. Just as mobile, cloud, and SaaS shaped the internet of the past 20 years, so too could crypto, AI, and new hardware usher in an era of the internet that’s pro-innovation, pro-startup, and pro-creator. Speaking with a16z Growth General Partner David George, a16z crypto Founder and Managing Partner Chris Dixon breaks down his vision for a new internet, from using crypto to decentralize AI infrastructure and kickstart network effects, to why...
Critical materials like copper, lithium, and gallium have been mined for decades, but their role in core technologies, geopolitics, and the energy transition have come to a height in recent years. In this episode, a16z partner Connie Chan discusses how technology is changing the game of identification and exploration, together with leading company KoBold and their VP of Geoscience, VP of Technology, and CEO of Africa. Resources: Learn more about KoBold Metals: https://www.koboldmetals.com/ Stay ...
Two words have caught the Internet by storm. DeepSeek. The Chinese reasoning model r1 is rivaling others at the frontier with an open-source MIT license, methods that some claim may be 45x more efficient, an alleged $5.6m cost, the release of reasoning traces, a follow-on image model, and the fact that all of this was released by a hedge fund China. Many are already referring to this as a Sputnik moment. If that’s true, how should we – whether founder, researcher, policy maker – not just react, ...
This week, a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz had a rare and invaluable conversation with Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a pivotal figure in American history. Dr. Jones, who served as speechwriter, attorney, and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., shared his personal insights on race, inclusion, and the lasting legacy of the civil rights movement in 2025. In their wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Jones reflected on the timeless wisdom of Dr. King, quoting one of the most enduring lines from the "I Have a Dream"...
How is AI reshaping modern warfare? Speaking with a16z Growth General Partner David George, Anduril cofounder and CEO Brian Schimpf discusses how AI helps humans make better strategic decisions by sorting through the enormous amount of data collected from modern battlefields. Schimpf also discusses navigating the US government’s complex procurement processes, using commercial technologies to kickstart their own product development, and the growing opportunities for startups in defense. Throughou...
Intelligent automation is transforming industries by tackling messy, unstructured workflows that traditional Robotic Process Automation (RPA) couldn’t handle. In this episode, a16z partner Kimberly Tan discusses the shift from rigid RPA systems to AI-powered agents and why this evolution unlocks massive opportunities in legacy markets. Drawing on her article "RIP to RPA: The Rise of Intelligent Automation," Kimberly shares real-world examples of companies revolutionizing referral management, and...
Healthcare is a $4 trillion industry, making up nearly a fifth of the U.S. economy—but despite having some of the best doctors and advanced technology, the system often delivers poor outcomes at skyrocketing costs. Why is this the case, and what will it take to fix it? In this episode, a16z cofounder Marc Andreessen and General Partners Vijay Pande and Julie Yoo tackle some of the biggest questions shaping the future of healthcare: Is the solution to our healthcare crisis a policy, technology, o...
In this episode, Substack cofounder and CEO Chris Best joins a16z General Partner Andrew Chen to discuss the origins and evolution of Substack, a platform redefining media and empowering creators to connect directly with their audiences. They dive into how Substack’s early days led to over 3 million paid subscribers, why creators are moving away from traditional platforms to establish direct connections with their audiences, and how the future of media in the AI era is reshaping opportunities fo...
