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.
They also dig into the innovator’s dilemma facing SaaS incumbents, the rise of brand moats, the surprising role of prosumer adoption, and what it takes to pick true category leaders in a market defined by both exponential growth – and accelerated wipeouts.
Martin Casado is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he leads the firm's $1.25 billion infrastructure practice.
Sarah Wang is a general partner on the Growth team at Andreessen Horowitz, where she focuses on enterprise technology companies.
Erik Torenberg is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he focuses on investing and running our marketing & ecosystem orgs.
The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.