More About Ryan
Ryan McEntush is an investing partner at a16z, focusing on companies that promote American Dynamism.
Previously, Ryan worked at Teleport, an infrastructure cybersecurity company. During his time there, Ryan began in sales, before transitioning into operations where he led planning and go-to-market initiatives.
Ryan attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and received a degree in Economics. He (reluctantly) graduated early to move to San Francisco, but hopes to live on the beach again someday soon.
Outside of work, Ryan writes on topics ranging from lunar colonization and Arctic trade routes to industrial policy and maritime history. His essays can be found on his blog, Ryanomics.
Latest Content
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a16z leads Chariot Defense's Seed round
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a16z leads Heron Power's Series B
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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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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 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 electro-industrial stack is turning hardware into software driven systems and powering a new industrial era.
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Mariana Minerals is a systems company building the software layer that brings real-time intelligence to mining.
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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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For startups, working with the Department of Defense (DoD) can feel like stepping into a fortress of bureaucracy — procurement is slow, compliance is daunting, and knowing who actually makes buying decisions is like navi...
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These 50 companies aren’t just strengthening America’s ability to deter conflict, they’re re-industrializing America in the process.
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To seize a future of energy abundance, we must simplify the generation, transmission, and consumption of electricity; this entails decentralizing the grid.
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The electric grid needs an update. In this explainer, a16z Partner Ryan McEntush discusses the escalating complexity of the grid, unveils its vulnerabilities, and traces the evolutionary path that has led us to this point. From the surging demands of AI to outdated infrastructure, we delve into the potential roles of cutting-edge technologies such as solar batteries, natural gas, and nuclear power in shaping the grid's future.
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50 groundbreaking tech companies advancing the national interest, from the last mile to low Earth orbit.
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If we’re going to normalize nuclear power as a reliable energy source, it's essential to understand how we’ve ended up in our current situation.
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For a full landscape of the commercial space market, see our previous post: Space: A Market Map.
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In “The Space Age”, I wrote about the importance of mankind extending our reach into the stars. Moreover, I suggested that America is — and should remain — the leader in this endeavor. It was, in many ways, an appeal to...
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At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023. Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications. In our 2-part series, we’ll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them. Here in part 2, we’ll cover Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health. Listen in as we chat with Anish Acharya, Angela Strange, Michelle Volz, Ryan McEntush, Vijay Pande, and Julie Yoo. And for the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/
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For some of us, the echo of the Space Race remains a catalyst for our daily pursuits. But a changing world demands more, and we stand today at the dawn of a new age. Sixty years later, we are in the early innings of the...