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WHAT WE BELIEVE
The American Dynamism practice invests in founders and companies that support the national interest: aerospace, defense, public safety, education, housing, supply chain, industrials, and manufacturing. We believe that mission-driven and civic-minded founders often build companies that transcend verticals and business models in their quest to solve important national problems. These companies view the government as a customer, competitor, or key stakeholder—and the success of these companies supports the flourishing of all Americans. Dynamic companies exist in all 50 states and have a global impact.
THE MOVEMENT
American Dynamism embodies the spirit of innovation, progress, and resilience that drives the United States forward. This powerful force is exemplified by groundbreaking achievements in technology and innovation, shaping both our nation and the global landscape. It reflects the American commitment to pushing boundaries, embracing challenges, and always striving for a brighter, more prosperous future. Investing in visionary founders and teams tackling the world’s most pressing problems is essential to fueling this dynamic spirit and ensuring continued progress for generations to come.
1903
Wright Brothers Take Flight
The Wright Brothers’ first successful powered flight revolutionized transportation, paving the way for modern aviation and radically altering global communication and trade.
1942
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project developed the first atomic bomb, shifting the course of WWII and introducing the world to the power of nuclear technology.
1947
Invention of the Transistor
The transistor’s invention led to smaller, faster electronics, enabling the digital age and transforming industries from computing and communications to medicine and entertainment.
1969
The Moon Landing
Apollo 11’s moon landing showcased American technological prowess, inspiring generations and setting the stage for future space exploration and scientific advancements.
1974
Microprocessors
The invention of microprocessors reshaped modern life by revolutionizing computing and empowering the development of personal computers, smartphones, and countless other electronic devices.
1984
The Internet is Born
The internet profoundly transformed society and culture by facilitating global communication, information sharing, and commerce.
1991
Modern Lithium-ion Battery Invented
The invention of the modern Lithium-ion battery enabled portable electronics and electric vehicles, significantly impacting energy storage, transportation, and sustainability.
2007
iPhone is Announced
The iPhone transformed mobile technology with its innovative touchscreen, advanced camera, and diverse app ecosystem, redefining communication and software interaction, and inspiring numerous consumer and enterprise products.
2015
SpaceX Lands a Rocket First Stage
SpaceX’s historic rocket landing demonstrated reusable rocket technology, drastically reducing space transportation costs, and opening new opportunities in space exploration and commercial activity.
2022
Generative AI Goes Mainstream
Generative AI reshaped how we think about interacting with computers and the creative process. It also raised important—and yet unanswered—questions in areas such as law, philosophy, and the future of productivity.
Content
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The Missing Power Layer of Modern Warfare New
Erin Price-Wright speaks with Adam Warmoth, founder and CEO of Chariot Defense, and Alex Miller, CTO of the U.S. Army, about the power crisis at the heart of modern military operations. As the battlefield becomes more di...
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Why Every Satellite Needs Earth | Northwood CEO on a16z New
Bridgit Mendler, Co-founder and CEO of Northwood, joins a16z’s Erik Torenberg to discuss the critical but overlooked bottleneck in space: ground infrastructure. Northwood is building the systems that connect satellites b...
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Inside Palantir: Building Software That Matters with Shyam Sankar
In this conversation, Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer at Palantir Technologies, discusses his new book Mobilize, his commission in the U.S. Army, and why he believes the most important thing America can do right n...
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AI, Supply Chains, and the Future of Economic Power
Erik Torenberg sits down with Jacob Helberg to discuss AI, manufacturing, supply chains, and the new geopolitics of technology. Drawing on themes from Helberg’s book The Wires of War, they explore why hardware, industria...
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Emil Michael: Iran, Anthropic and the Future of AI at the Pentagon
This conversation with Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and acting director of the Defense Innovation Unit, was recorded at the a16z American Dynamism Summit in Washington, D.C. Michae...
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Palantir CEO Alex Karp on the Zero-Sum AI Race
This conversation with Alex Karp, cofounder and CEO of Palantir, was recorded at the a16z American Dynamism Summit in Washington, D.C. Karp discusses the role of technology in modern warfare, Silicon Valley's obligations...
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What It Takes to Clear a Million Crimes a Year with Flock Safety’s CEO
In this episode, previously aired on Cheeky Pint, Garrett Langley describes how a stolen gun in his Atlanta neighborhood led him to build Flock Safety, now deployed in more than 6,000 cities and involved in clearing over...
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Ben Thompson: Anthropic, the Pentagon, and the Limits of Private Power
In this conversation, previously aired on TBPN, John Coogan and Jordi Hays speak with Ben Thompson, founder of Stratechery, about his essay "Anthropic and Alignment" and the broader collision between AI power and state p...
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Investing in Chariot Defense
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 0700 hours.
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Investing in Heron Power
Lots of words have been written lately (many by us!) about our failing grid, AI’s insatiable need for power, and the distressing rise in the cost of electricity delivery relative to the incredible progress that’s been ma...
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A Primer on Factory Economics for Startups
The "Factory-is-the-Product" Model in Venture-Backed Manufacturing
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Can AI Help Save Lives?
In this episode, a16z partner Kimberly Tan sits down with Michael Chime, the CEO and co-founder of AI emergency response platform Prepared, for a powerful conversation about how AI is transforming public safety — startin...
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Technology in 1776
If you had just five minutes to tell a Founding Father about the last 250 years in America, what would you say?
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Everything is Computer
How smartphones became the blueprint for modern technology, shaping electric vehicles, robotics, AI, and global supply chains, and why mastering the electro-industrial stack now defines economic and geopolitical power.
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Be the Navy, Not Pirates
Most great organizations start as pirates — breaking rules, defying empires, and building fortunes from the wreckage. “Move fast and break things” captured that spirit: better to be bold and decisive than slow and perfec...
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The Right to Bear Technology: America’s Other Second Amendment
This piece was originally published in The Free Press.
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Can the US Beat China’s Engineering State?
From high-speed rail to electric cars to batteries to AI, it’s clear that China can operate with incredible speed at massive scale. Can the US still compete?
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Storytelling in American Dynamism: Lessons from War Stories
The strongest companies build belief through vivid, human-centered storytelling that conveys real details and lived experiences. By embracing contradictions and showing what’s truly at stake, they create narratives that inspire trust and lasting impact.
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The Common Thread of All Technology: Monitoring the Situation, Ep.1
Announcing our new show, Monitoring the Situation, hosted by a16z General Partners Erik Torenberg and Katherine Boyle, with guest Eddie Lazzarin, CTO of a16z crypto.
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Software finally eats services – Aaron Levie
Should the US put a price on H-1B visas, or would that block the flow of new talent? Are AI coding agents actually making teams way more productive, or is it just hype? And in the AI platform shift, will the big winners...
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Dylan Patel on the AI Chip Race – NVIDIA, Intel & the US Government vs. China
Nvidia’s $5 billion investment in Intel is one of the biggest surprises in semiconductors in years. Two longtime rivals are now teaming up, and the ripple effects could reshape AI, cloud, and the global chip race.
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Why America Needs Dynamic Defense Reform
Pentagon procurement has devolved into Soviet-style central planning—stifling innovation and production—and calls for bold reforms like commercial-first acquisition, portfolio buying, and startup-friendly contracting to restore speed, scale, and industrial strength.
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The Little Tech Agenda for AI
Who’s speaking up for startups in Washington, D.C.?
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How to Hire A Strong Founding Team
Recruiting is a founder’s most underestimated challenge, and success comes from mastering sourcing, process, and closing.
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The Electro-Industrial Stack Will Move the World
The electro-industrial stack is turning hardware into software driven systems and powering a new industrial era.
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Oren Cass & Noah Smith Debate the True Impact of Tariffs
Do tariffs help rebuild American manufacturing or hold it back?
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H20s to China + 15% with Chris Miller and Lennart Heim
We’re sharing an episode from ChinaTalk that dives into one of the biggest recent reversals in U.S. tech policy.
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Google DeepMind Lead Researchers on Genie 3 & the Future of World-Building
Genie 3 can generate fully interactive, persistent worlds from just text, in real time.
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The State of American AI Policy: From ‘Pause AI’ to ‘Build’
a16z General Partners Martin Casado and Anjney Midha join Erik Torenberg to unpack one of the most dramatic shifts in tech policy in recent memory: the move from “pause AI” to “win the AI race.”
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To Prevent the Next Pearl Harbor, America Must Invest in Drone Defenses
This summer, we twice witnessed military history unfold. Ukraine first stunned the world with Operation Spider's Web, crippling Russia’s strategic nuclear bomber fleet deep within its territory by using commercial drones...
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Steven Sinofsky & Balaji Srinivasan on the Future of AI, Tech, & the Global World Order
There’s been a wave of M&A deals lately - Meta and Scale, Windsurf and Google - and a lot of it points to something bigger: how regulation, capital, and innovation are colliding in 2025.
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Investing Capital to Defend the Nation
Large institutional investors can anchor a generational rearmament of the American industrial and innovation base.
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Dwarkesh and Noah Smith on AGI and the Economy
In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined in the studio by Dwarkesh Patel and Noah Smith to explore one of the biggest questions in tech: what exactly is artificial general intelligence (AGI), and how close are we to ach...
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Balaji on How Tech Truly Wins Media
What really caused the breakdown between tech and media—and what comes next?
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Balaji Srinivasan: How AI Will Change Politics, War, and Money
a16z General Partners Erik Torenberg and Martin Casado sit down with technologist and investor Balaji Srinivasan to explore how the metaphors we use to describe AI—whether as god, swarm, tool, or oracle—reveal as much ab...
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Investing in Diode
Diode is rethinking the PCB workflow by embedding AI into the design process to ensure generated layouts are functional and scalable.
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Critical Minerals: Mining for the Industrial Future
It can take more than 15 years to permit and build a new mine in the United States - yet nearly every modern technology we rely on, from smartphones to fighter jets to AI data centers, depends on a steady supply of criti...
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Investing in Mariana Minerals
Mariana Minerals is a systems company building the software layer that brings real-time intelligence to mining.
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Marc Andreessen and Joe Lonsdale on Tariffs and Trade
Today we’re sharing an episode from American Optimist featuring Marc Andreessen in conversation with Joe Lonsdale, recorded live at the inaugural Ronald Reagan Economic Forum.
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America’s Energy Problem: The Grid That Built America Can’t Power Its Future
U.S. per capita energy usage peaked in 1973. Since then? Flat. Meanwhile, China’s per capita energy use has grown 9x.
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Katherine Boyle: How Tech Can Rebuild America
Why does seriousness feel radical today?
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Republic Reforged: Democracy and American Dynamism in a New Era of Conflict
Business leaders and technologists increasingly feel compelled to enter public service. Studying earlier eras will help us understand how to make it work.
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How Apple Became So Reliant on China & What it Means For Their Future
What if the rise of Apple also built modern China?
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It’s Time to Mine: Securing Critical Minerals
The United States should back a critical minerals champion powered by innovation, resilience, speed, and the ingenuity and resolve of American builders.
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Sovereign AI: Why Nations Are Building Their Own Models
What happens when AI stops being just infrastructure—and becomes a matter of national identity and global power?
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Marc Andreessen: Deep Vs. Broad Founders, AI in America, & the New Face of a16z
Today on the a16z Podcast, we’re sharing Marc Andreessen’s recent appearance on TBPN.
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Startups & Defense: Katherine Boyle on TBPN
In this episode of th a16z Podcast, we’re sharing Katherine Boyle’s recent interview on TBPN.
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The Software Crisis Behind America’s Infrastructure
Today’s critical infrastructure—air traffic, logistics, defense—is powered by legacy software. And that’s a problem.
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How to Build ChatGPT for Robotics
We’re inching close to generalizable, deployable robot models, but still struggling to find the right bounds for these deployed systems.
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ARES: An Open Source Platform for Robot Data
ARES (Automatic Robot Evaluation System) is an all-in-one, open-source robot data platform, aimed at helping robotics researchers build better models.
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Investing in Northwood
Northwood is re-architecting ground infrastructure for satellite communications as a distributed, cloud-like network of phased array ground stations.
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The Dual-Use Founder: Vets Now Building For America
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 th...
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Investing in Base Power
Base Power installs batteries that lower energy bills, provide backup power, give customers control over their energy — and could help save our grid.
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The Future of Drone Warfare
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.
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How to Build with the Department of Defense
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?
The American Dynamism 50: The Fight of the Future
50 AI companies advancing the national interest, from the last mile to low Earth orbit.
See Who's on the listMeet the American Dynamism Team
Innovation. Progress. Resiliency. Groundbreaking achievement. Our team is committed to identifying and supporting civic-minded founders ready to lead America. Tackling our biggest challenges requires courage. We find the companies who have it.
See Full Team
Investing Team
Operations
PORTFOLIO
Come See What We’re Building
Acquired By: DuPont
Acquired By: True Talent Advisory
Acquired By: Axon.com
IPO: IOT
M&A: SHPW
Acquired By: Accenture
Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described on this page are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. Exits include current and former a16z portfolio companies which have been acquired as well as companies which have undergone an initial public offering or direct public offering of shares. Certain publicly traded companies on this list may still be held in Andreessen Horowitz funds. A list of investments made by funds managed by a16z is available here: https://a16z.com/investment-list/. Additionally investments that have participated in a16z accelerator programs can also be found here: https://speedrun.a16z.com/companies/. Excluded from this list are investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets. Further, the list of investments is updated monthly and as such may not reflect most recent a16z investments. Past results of Andreessen Horowitz’s investments, pooled investment vehicles, or investment strategies are not necessarily indicative of future results.