More About Ben
Ben Horowitz is a cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The Hard Thing About Hard Things and What You Do Is Who You Are. He also created the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund to connect the greatest cultural leaders to the best new technology companies, and enable more young African Americans to enter the technology industry.
Prior to a16z, Ben was cofounder and CEO of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in 2007, and was appointed vice president and general manager of Business Technology Optimization for Software at HP. Earlier, he was vice president and general manager of America Online’s E-commerce Platform division, where he oversaw development of the company’s flagship Shop@AOL service. Previously, Ben ran several product divisions at Netscape Communications. He also served as vice president of Netscape’s widely acclaimed Directory and Security product line. Before joining Netscape in July 1995, he held various senior product marketing positions at Lotus Development Corporation.
Ben has an MS and a BA in computer science from UCLA and Columbia University, respectively.
Ben serves on the board of Anyscale, Databricks, Mayvenn, NationBuilder, Navan, Okta ($OKTA), and UnitedMasters.
Latest Content
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This week, a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz had a rare and invaluable conversation with Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a pivotal figure in American history.
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In this special episode, Marc and Ben sit down with Chief Mike Gennaro and Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) to discuss how their organization is using technology to become the safes...
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In this special post-election episode, Marc and Ben reflect on Trump's dramatic political victory and its potential impact for startups—particularly in AI, crypto, and defense.
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Marc and Ben dive into the latest AI policy updates, emphasizing the need for informed debate on AI’s risks and benefits, and the policies needed for AI startups to thrive and collaborate. This conversation follows a16z'...
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a16z and Microsoft share policy ideas for AI startups so they can thrive, collaborate, and compete.
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Marc and Ben explore the intensifying competition between the U.S. and China in artificial intelligence and robotics, assessing the U.S.'s strengths in software development while raising concerns about China’s growing do...
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a16z cofounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz explore an unusual intersection of AI and crypto: the sudden rise of a bot-beloved memecoin.
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Marc and Ben explore the intersection of AI and crypto, highlighting the rise of Truth Terminal, an autonomous chatbot developed by AI researcher Andy Ayrey. With its own X account, Truth Terminal generates original and...
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Las Vegas Metro Police improved public safety with $6.3M in state-of-the-art tech from Skydio and Flock Safety, enhancing intelligence and awareness.
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In this special episode, Marc and Ben discuss their latest article, “The Little Tech Agenda,” and why the future of American innovation is at a critical juncture.
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In this special episode, Marc and Ben dive deep into the REAL story behind the creation of Netscape—a web browser co-created by Marc that revolutionized the internet and changed the world. As Ben notes at the top, until...
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The Little Tech AgendaFeatured
The time has come to stand up for Little Tech. Bad government policies are now the #1 threat to Little Tech. We believe American technology supremacy, and the critical role that Little Tech startups play in ensuring that supremacy, is a first class political issue on par with any other.
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In this special episode, Marc and Ben dive deep into the REAL story behind the creation of Netscape—a web browser co-created by Marc that revolutionized the internet and changed the world. As Ben notes at the top, until...
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In this latest episode on the State of AI, Ben and Marc discuss how small AI startups can compete with Big Tech’s massive compute and data scale advantages, reveal why data is overrated as a sellable asset, and unpack al...
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Are we on the verge of a new American Dream?
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Marc and Ben continue their discussion on the "State of AI" as it relates to company building.
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Marc and Ben discuss the "State of AI" as it relates to company building, including how small AI startups can compete with Big Tech’s massive compute and data scale advantages, why data is overrated as a sellable asset,...
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In this second episode of a two-part series, Marc and Ben continue their deep dive on startup building in the post-COVID world, including how startups can think differently about organizational design and talent deployme...
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In this first episode in a two-part series, Marc and Ben answer your questions about startup building in the post-COVID world, including the biggest tech and cultural disruptions in recent time, major problems facing Ame...
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We have just raised $7.2B for American Dynamism ($600M), Apps ($1B), Games ($600M), Infrastructure ($1.25B), and Growth ($3.75B). This marks an important milestone for us.
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“If America is going to be America in the next one hundred years, we have to get this right.” - Ben Horowitz
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Marc and Ben take on one of the most hot button issues facing technology today: regulation and policy. The two delve into why the political interests of “Big Tech” often conflict with a positive technological future, why...
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Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke speaks with a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz about scaling tech startups, leadership, business strategy, and more.
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Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz discuss the new bestselling book Read Write Own with author Chris Dixon on the web3 with a16z crypto podcast.
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Marc and Ben are joined by guest Chris Dixon to discuss his recent NY Times bestselling book “Read Write Own”, as well as the future of crypto, blockchain and web3.
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"The Ben & Marc Show" features a16z's co-founders Ben Horowitz & Marc Andreessen. In this episode, Marc and Ben continue their in-depth exploration of the current education system. While Part I of their discussion unpacked the crisis facing higher education, Part II presents solutions to overhaul the modern university.
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In the final installment of their discussion on the crisis in higher education, Ben and Marc explore the merits of a Harvard undergraduate education versus a Thiel Fellowship, discuss the benefits of trade schools, and s...
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Marc and Ben continue their in-depth exploration of the current education system.
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In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben tackle the university system – what has certainly been a hot topic that’s been dominating the news over the past few months. As Marc states at the top of the episode, universities matter tremendously to our world, but they’re currently in a state of crisis.
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In the final installment of their discussion on the crisis in higher education, Ben and Marc explore the merits of a Harvard undergraduate education versus a Thiel Fellowship, discuss the benefits of trade schools, and s...
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Marc and Ben tackle the university system – a hot topic that’s been dominating the news over the past few months. As Marc states at the top of the episode, universities matter tremendously to our world, but they’re curre...
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Marc and Ben are joined by special guest Tony Robbins to discuss new breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, AI, biohacking, gene editing, mindset and why this might be the best time to be alive.
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Marc and Ben are joined by bestselling author Tony Robbins to discuss the future of longevity – including new breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, AI and biohacking, gene editing, and why this might be the best time t...
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Politics and the FutureFeatured
If a candidate supports an optimistic technology-enabled future, we are for them. If they want to choke off important technologies, we are against them
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Ben and Marc answer YOUR questions from X – including the best way to approach a VC, how their views on crypto have evolved over the past few years, and whether we should be using AI to bring iconic musical artists back...
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Taking a company from idea to household name is always difficult. But the past few years presented challenges that caught even the most-seasoned CEOs off guard. In this episode, you’ll hear from two CEOs that navigated these waters and somehow, came out on the other side. These recordings come straight from our exclusive Connect/Enterprise event, bringing together top executives across the a16z network.
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In an article that has sparked widespread conversation across traditional and social media, Marc challenges the pessimistic narrative surrounding technology today, and instead celebrates it as a liberating force that can lead to growth, progress and abundance for all. In this one-on-one conversation based on YOUR questions from X (formerly Twitter), Ben and Marc discuss how technological advancements can improve the quality of human life, uplift marginalized communities, and even encourage us to answer the bigger questions of the universe.
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This past week, Marc released his new vision for the future – “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto”. In an article that has sparked widespread conversation across traditional and social media, Marc challenges the pessimistic n...
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Today’s episode continues our coverage from a16z’s recent AI Revolution event. You’ll hear directly from a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO, Ali Ghodsi as they answer questions around AI and the enterprise, plus their perspectives on open source, whether benchmarks are BS, and the scramble of universities to take part in the very wave they kicked off decades ago.
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Marc and Ben take on the most hot-button issue in Hollywood: artificial intelligence. Over the past few months, the topic of AI technology has pushed the entire industry into unknown territory. Screenwriters fear they’...
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Ali Ghodsi, CEO and cofounder of Databricks, and Ben Horowitz, cofounder of a16z, explain the data wars happening inside and outside enterprises and how they could impact the evolution of LLMs.
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In this exclusive conversation from the Bio + Health BUILD summit, founding partner Ben Horowitz sits down with general partner Jorge Conde.
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In this exclusive conversation from a16z’s Bio and Health BUILD Summit, founding partner Ben Horowitz sits down with general partner Jorge Conde. They discuss everything from the inspiration behind Ben’s book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, how the open Internet was secured, the difference between wartime and peacetime CEOs, scaling culture, and understanding how bio & healthcare differs from other forms of technology.
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Marc and Ben take on the biggest and most important film of the year – Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster “Oppenheimer”. Based on the 2005 biography “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenhei...
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The holy grail of company building is finding product-market fit. But what most people don’t tell you is that once you’ve found it, product-market fit brings its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to scaling rapidly and hiring the right executives at the right time. Drawing from their extensive experiences, a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO Ali Ghodsi sit down to talk about the hardest things about executive hiring and firing, and what is at stake. They dive into the common reasons an exec fails, why sometimes micromanagement is a good idea, and the difference between someone who has written a playbook and someone who has only run one.
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a16z’s Ben Horowitz and Databricks’ Ali Ghodsi sit down to talk about hiring and firing executives, including the common reasons an exec fails, why micromanagement can be a good idea, and the difference between someone who has written a playbook and someone who has only run one.
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If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard of the recent FTX scandal. While there’s much still unknown, in this episode we get the unique opportunity to hear from Brian Armstrong – co-founder and CEO of Coinbase – about what’s top of mind for the crypto industry. That includes the impact of this current event on future regulation, how this crypto winter might be different from previous ones, founder psychology during downturns, the transparency that comes with being public, and much more. Brian is interviewed by a16z cofounder and general partner Ben Horowitz, who has the unique perspective of having invested in, built, and been on the board of numerous companies during the ups and downs, leading him to his well-known book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
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While building and shaping culture is as relevant as ever for startups and companies today, leaders have sought the answers to these questions for hundreds of years – and there is practical advice to be had by examining different cultures across time and around the globe. In this episode from December 2019, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz sits down with host Sonal Choksi to talk about what actually makes up culture, whether in a company or any organization or team, as based on Ben’s best-selling book, What You Do is Who You Are. They discuss the idea of culture as code, the nuances of setting and changing a culture, and how to apply the principles of his book to startups, the tech industry and any company today.
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Behind many great leaders, you’ll usually find a great mentor. The mentor-mentee relationship is often one of the most important and most fulfilling relationships people have, in both their careers and in their lives. So how do you find a mentor? What are different kinds of mentorship? And how can it help you break into an industry – or help others break in themselves? In this episode from July 2018, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz discusses mentorship with his mentor, Silicon Valley pioneer Ken Coleman, and Ben’s mentee, Michel Feaster, founder of Usermind and now Chief Product Officer at Qualtrics. They begin with their personal journeys and share advice and frameworks for mentorship, leadership, and growing as a founder.
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Ben Horowitz discusses the leadership styles of Intel’s Andy Grove and Apple’s Bill Campbell, how Okta won its market with culture, and how to look for and hire the talent you don’t have in an interview with David Weiden...
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Since our inception in 2009, Andreessen Horowitz has been a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Now, our headquarters will be in the cloud.
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In this episode from February 2017, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz and Jason Rosenthal, former Lytro CEO (now Vice President, Subscription Services, at Google) share stories and lessons learned from doing whatever they could to help their companies survive in hard times, including making and living through major pivots, selling new products before they were ready, figuring out financing with market and industry headwinds against them, and more. From their days together at LoudCloud to Jason’s experience at Lytro, and beyond, a common theme emerges: a CEO’s job is lonely in these moments and the hardest thing about a big pivot or change might be in finding the courage to make the decision in the first place.
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Andreessen Horowitz just raised $9B to invest via our Venture, Growth, and Bio funds. Why invest $9B in a brand new set of technology companies?
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Nailing customer experience is tough. Every conversation, across every channel, counts. And while much in our lives has changed since the 1960s, the site of these customer conversations has not: the contact center. Conta...
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This podcast (which was recorded at the Computer History Museum before the pandemic) is all about how companies create culture beyond their values and mission statements: A lot's changed... and a lot hasn't. Based on the book What You Do Is Who You Are, the nuanced discussion that follows probes how startups evolve and whether companies and people can change; common tropes that often come up in Silicon Valley folklore; and practical advice. Please note that the discussion that follows includes various mentions of violence.