Podcast: a16z

What if now is the best time in decades to start a company?

In this episode, taken from Speedrun, a16z’s accelerator for early-stage founders, Marc Andreessen joins games General Partner Jonathan Lai to make the case that we’re entering a once-in-a-generation window for innovation. From the rise of AI to the cultural and policy shifts reshaping the global economy, Marc explains why the next four years present a rare opportunity for builders to seize the moment.

Along the way, they discuss market timing, platform shifts, and what sets successful founders apart - including lessons from Steve Jobs, insights into AI’s impact on storytelling and games, and why being “too early” can feel just like being wrong.

Why does seriousness feel radical today?

a16z General Partner Katherine Boyle joins The LaBossiere Podcast to explore what it means to build for the national interest—and why that starts with purpose. Katherine, part of the American Dynamism team at a16z, shares how we got to a place where public service became uncool, how tech can help rebuild trust in government, and why suffering, friction, and responsibility are essential ingredients for growth. From the collapse of civic duty to the rise of meme-driven politics, they dig into the cultural forces shaping America—and the opportunity to reclaim a sense of mission.

They also discuss why Silicon Valley is more idea than place, what journalists and investors have in common, and why being laughed at might be the clearest sign you’re on the right path.

In this episode of ‘This Week in Consumer’, a16z General Partners Anish Acharya and Erik Torenberg are joined by Steven Sinofsky - Board Partner at a16z and former President of Microsoft’s Windows division - for a deep dive on how today’s AI moment mirrors (and diverges from) past computing transitions.

They explore whether we’re at the “Windows 3.1” stage of AI or still in the earliest innings, why consumer adoption is outpacing developer readiness, and how frameworks like partial autonomy, jagged intelligence, and “vibe coding” are shaping what gets built next. They also dig into where the real bottlenecks lie, not in the tech, but in how companies, products, and people work.

What if virality wasn’t a tactic — but the entire product?

In this episode, a16z General Partners Erik Torenberg and Bryan Kim sit down with Roy Lee, cofounder and CEO of Cluely, one of the most talked-about consumer AI startups of 2025. Cluely didn’t raise a mega round or drop a feature suite to get traction - it broke through by turning distribution into design: launching viral short-form videos, pushing polarizing product drops, and building in public with speed and spectacle.

We cover:
– Why virality is Cluely’s moat
– Building a brand-native AI interface
– The Gen Z founder mindset
– What most startups get wrong about attention
– Why creators are the new product managers
– Cluely’s long-term vision for ambient AI

Cluely is a glimpse at the next generation of startups, where the line between product and performance is disappearing.

In this episode, general partner Chris Dixon joins economist and author Tyler Cowen to explore the themes behind Chris’s book, Read, Write, Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet.

They trace the internet’s evolution from open, decentralized beginnings to today’s consolidated platforms—and ask: how can we build something better? From stablecoins, tokenized payments, and open blockchains to AI's impact on coding, media, and politics, this wide-ranging conversation dives deep into how technologies like crypto and AI could help redistribute power online and reshape the future of ownership and innovation.

The two also debate:

Whether banks and legacy institutions will adopt stablecoins
The long-term role of NFTs and digital property rights
How AI might rewrite venture capital, education, and economic planning
Whether we're heading toward a creative renaissance—or a world of AI-generated monoculture

Listen to similar conversations, listen to web3 with a16z: https://web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/

In this episode, a16z general partner Bryan Kim joins TBPN hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays to discuss the recent launch of Cluely , a consumer AI product. The conversation covers early traction, evaluating distribution and momentum, and how investors assess go-to-market strategies in emerging AI applications.

How is AI actually being used in classrooms today? Are teachers adopting it, or resisting it? And could software eventually replace traditional instruction entirely?

In this episode of This Week in Consumer AI, a16z partners Justine Moore, Olivia Moore, and Zach Cohen explore one of the most rapidly evolving — and widely debated — frontiers in consumer technology: education.

They unpack how generative AI is already reshaping educational workflows, enabling teachers to scale feedback, personalize curriculum, and reclaim time from administrative tasks. We also examine emerging consumer behavior — from students using AI for homework to parents exploring AI-led learning paths for their children.

What if the rise of Apple also built modern China?

a16z’s Erik Torenberg is joined by board partner and former Microsoft Windows chief Steven Sinofsky to unpack how Apple’s pursuit of design excellence and supply chain scale catalyzed China’s manufacturing superpower status - and why that partnership is now under intense scrutiny.

Inspired by the book Apple in China (but not a book review), the episode dives deep into:

- The early days of Apple’s shift to Chinese manufacturing
- What experts got wrong in 1999 about trade, globalization, and China’s trajectory
- How Tim Cook’s operational playbook reshaped the global tech industry
- Behind-the-scenes stories from Microsoft’s own hardware battles and Surface launch
- Why Apple’s entanglement with China may now be a strategic liability
- What COVID revealed about fragile global dependencies — and where innovation goes next
- How national policy, intellectual property, and AI intersect in the new industrial era

The episode opens with a few reactions to WWDC: Apple’s new UI, the iPad’s evolving role, and why Apple’s AI story still feels unfinished - before zooming out into one of the most consequential tech and geopolitical stories of our time.

In this recent episode of The Ben & Marc Show, a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz sit down with Adam Neumann—founder of WeWork and now Flow—to unpack one of the most unlikely comeback stories in tech.

What began as a personal reckoning after a very public fall has become a bold new vision for how we live and belong. Flow isn’t just a real estate company—it’s an operating system for community, built on first-principles software, design, and soul.

Joined by a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg, the group goes deep on:

- Why Adam’s childhood shaped his obsession with community
- Adam’s fall from WeWork—and how he found a new path to redemption
- How Flow is re-architecting real estate from scratch
- Why loneliness is the greatest design challenge of our time

With reflections on dyslexia, the American dream, and the thin line between failure and greatness, this is a candid and wide-ranging conversation about redemption, vision, and building something that matters in this world. We hope you enjoy this deeply human conversation about the future of living.

Things in consumer AI are moving fast.

In this episode, Justine and Olivia, investing partners (and identical twins!) at a16z, break down what’s real, what’s overhyped, and what’s next across the consumer AI space.

We cover:
Veo 3: how Google's video model unlocked a new genre of content
OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode: upgrades, realism, and... um, human-like hesitation
Apple's big AI announcements (and the Siri letdown)
11Labs V3: expressive voice tags, real-time interruptions, and narrative tools for creators
New data from a16z: AI consumer startups are ramping revenue faster than ever—and we show you how
Justine walks through how she used GPT, Ideogram, and Krea to launch a fully AI-assisted brand prototype (store photos and all)

Plus, we wrap with a tutorial + demo on making your own AI brand - from ideation to visuals to voice. It’s exhausting (in the best way) to be a creative in the age of AI.

In this episode Jack Altman, CEO of Lattice and host of Uncapped, interviews Marc Andreessen on how venture capital is evolving - from small seed funds to billion-dollar barbell strategies - and why today’s most important tech companies don’t just build tools, they replace entire industries. They cover:

- The end of “picks and shovels” investing
- Why missing a great company matters more than backing a bad one
- The power law math behind fund size and asymmetric returns
- AI as the next computing platform — and a test for Western civilization
- Preference falsification, media power, and what founders can’t say out loud

This is a conversation about ambition at scale, the structure of modern venture, and the deep forces reshaping startups, innovation, and power.

What if crypto isn’t just a speculative asset class—but the next foundational layer of the internet?

In this episode, Chris Dixon, founding partner of a16z crypto and one of the earliest, most forward-thinking investors in the space, joins TBPN for a wide-ranging conversation on the real, long-term promise of crypto—and why we're still early.

He unpacks:

-Why stablecoins are already functioning as internet-native money
-How blockchains can serve as global, programmable financial infrastructure
-Why programmability, not just low fees, is the real unlock
-The evolving regulatory landscape and new bipartisan momentum
-The rise of AI agents, decentralized platforms, and real-world crypto use cases

This episode is about long-term thinking, technical optimism, and building open infrastructure for the future of the internet.

In this episode, a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg is joined by the a16z Consumer team—General Partner Anish Acharya and Partners Olivia Moore, Justine Moore, and Bryan Kim—for a conversation on the current state (and future) of consumer tech.

They unpack why it feels like breakout consumer apps have slowed down, how AI is changing the game, and what might define the next era of products. Topics include:

- The rise of AI-native consumer tools and companion apps
- Why users are now spending $200+/month on AI products
- The missing AI-powered social graph
- Why speed and iteration may matter more than traditional moats
- And what it means to build for a world where software touches everything

From shifting business models to new behavior patterns, this is your pulse check on where we are—and where consumer is heading next.

What if the next leap in artificial intelligence isn’t about better language—but better understanding of space?

In this episode, a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg moderates a conversation with Fei-Fei Li, cofounder and CEO of World Labs, and a16z General Partner Martin Casado, an early investor in the company. Together, they dive into the concept of world models—AI systems that can understand and reason about the 3D, physical world, not just generate text.

Often called the “godmother of AI,” Fei-Fei explains why spatial intelligence is a fundamental and still-missing piece of today’s AI—and why she’s building an entire company to solve it. Martin shares how he and Fei-Fei aligned on this vision long before it became fashionable, and why it could reshape the future of robotics, creativity, and computational interfaces.

From the limits of LLMs to the promise of embodied intelligence, this conversation blends personal stories with deep technical insights—exploring what it really means to build AI that understands the real (and virtual) world.

What does it take to build a venture firm from scratch—and scale it across multiple waves of technological and cultural change?

In this special episode recorded at the a16z LP Summit, Marc Andreessen joins Erik Torenberg for a conversation on the origins and evolution of Andreessen Horowitz. From raising Fund I during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis to shaping the firm’s multistage, multi-sector strategy, Marc reflects on how the firm was built—and rebuilt—as the tech landscape shifted.

They discuss the rise of “Little Tech,” why policy now matters to startups, how scale became a strategic advantage in venture capital, and why the move from generalists to vertical specialists was inevitable.

Along the way, Marc shares behind-the-scenes stories on Facebook’s near-sale to Yahoo, the evolution of founder archetypes, the global talent arbitrage, and what too many people still misunderstand about tech’s role in society.

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.

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 system for the future. Joined by a16z General Partners Anjney Midha and Erik Torenberg, the group dives deep into:

How Rick became a meme for Vibe Coding —and then quickly wrote "The Way of Code"
Why AI is just another artistic tool
Remix culture, creativity, and collective consciousness
Why great founders and artists need to stay true to themselves

With shout outs to punk rock, the collective unconscious, and Johnny Cash’s famed acoustic sessions, this conversation is a sprawling, soul-searching journey across music, philosophy, tech, and truth. We hope you enjoy this deeply personal and surprisingly practical conversation on how to live—and create—in the age of AI.

The Way of Code: https://www.thewayofcode.com/

“Tools will come and tools will go. Only the vibe coder remains.” - Rick Rubin

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 Martin Casado and Sarah Wang join Erik Torenberg to 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.

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 are becoming instruments of soft power
- What the DeepSeek release tells us about China’s AI strategy
- Whether the world needs a “Marshall Plan for AI”
- And how open-source models could reshape the balance of power

AI isn’t just a technology anymore - it’s geopolitical infrastructure. This conversation maps the new battleground.

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.