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☆ Marc Andreessen says student loan forgiveness is a 'bailout.' Ben Horowitz thinks college is mostly 'a scam.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marc Andreessen thinks student loan borrowers who received loan forgiveness are akin to companies and banks that got government bailouts rescuing them from bankruptcy. In a two-hour podcast titled "Crisis in Higher Ed & Why Universities Still Matter," published by his firm Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen took issue with people having some or all of their outstanding student debt erased in actions by the Biden administration. Andreessen Horowitz is a major SVB customer, and the bank also invested billions in the firm's funds. The Biden Administration also had a broader student debt relief plan struck down by the US Supreme Court last year, and it has moved forward with targeted relief programs based on specific borrower criteria. In response to Andreessen's issue with student loan forgiveness, A16z cofounder Ben Horowitz responded with the argument that, although the action provides relief for some, it does not address "the real issue."

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen, Biden, they've, wouldn't, Ben Horowitz, Horowitz, they'll, That's, A16z Organizations: Service, Business, Legal, Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Biden Administration, US

☆ A quick explainer on Silicon Valley's newest, controversial philosophy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's an old Silicon Valley philosophy packaged anew: Growth without guardrails. Silicon Valley enters the age of e/accAndreessen and other prominent Silicon Valley figures such as Y Combinator president Garry Tan have quietly added the term e/acc to their social media profiles. In his manifesto, Andreessen calls it "techno-optimism." To some extent, it's a repackaging of what Silicon Valley has always peddled — let us build, grow, and make money without limitations. "Techno-optimists believe growth is progress," Andreessen argues, adding that growth is driven by the progress of technology without hindrance.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, —, Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Andy Warhol, Milton Friedman, Prometheus, Y, Garry Tan, pesky ethicists, Carl, Benedikt Frey, Frey Organizations: Service, Silicon, acc Andreessen, acc, Netscape, Oxford Internet Institute Locations: Silicon Valley, digressions, OpenAI

☆ Fed-up employees might threaten to quit if changes aren't made to their job, but 'thruitting' often does more harm than good
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

siraanamwong/Getty ImagesYou're fed up with your job and are finally going to let your manager know it: "Fix this, or I'm leaving." In a bid to keep up with the never-ending stream of workplace trends, let's call this one "thruitting." AdvertisementAdvertisementFor your bookmarksFree tax filing programUS Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said tax filing should be simple. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty ImagesSee if you're eligible for the IRS' new, free tax filing pilot in 13 states. It's part of the department's attempt to make tax filing simpler and more cost-effective.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Chris Williams, Williams, simplehappyart, Today's, Siu, It's, SCOTT MORGAN, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's, Everyone's, Jeffrey Gundlach, Jensen Huang, Young Liu, Chiang Ying, Marc Andreessen's, Elon Musk, Musk, Arantza Pena Popo, Dolly, Janet Yellen, SAUL LOEB, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Tech, Microsoft, Treasury, Barclays, Baron Partners Fund, Nvidia, University of Pennsylvania, America, Blackstone, Getty, IRS Locations: Israel, Cincinnati , Ohio, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Marc Andreessen is getting raked over the coals for calling social responsibility the 'enemy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VC Marc Andreessen wrote a lengthy missive this week, titled "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto." AdvertisementAdvertisementIt wouldn't be a Marc Andreessen essay if the internet didn't lose its mind over it. Rather, technology, he wrote, can solve for "any material problem" under the sun and herald a new era of "abundance for everyone." The backlash to Andreessen's essay was swift. He runs one of the biggest venture capital firms by assets and perceived importance.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, —, Kara Swisher, Andreessen, Ben Collins, Andreessen's missive, Dorothea Baur, Cameron Moll, he's, Gary Marcus, Marcus, what's, Aravind Srinivas, A16z, Collins, Andreessen Horowitz, Del, Johnson Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook, Backstage Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Venture Locations: Silicon Valley, Del Johnson, Silicon

☆ Sequoia and Andreessen get hosed on their 2021 Instacart investment, after a 75% plunge in valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

That's more than 75% below where Sequoia and Andreessen invested in early 2021. At that time, Instacart sold shares at $125 a piece for a $39 billion valuation. The 400,000 shares it purchased in 2021 are a small sliver of the 51.2 million shares it owns. Neither Sequoia nor Andreessen participated in that round. Even if Instacart's IPO can't lift its valuation anywhere near its Covid-era peak, it's likely that Sequoia, Andreessen and other venture firms are hoping it helps lift public investor enthusiasm for new tech stocks.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Instacart, Andreessen, Covid shutdowns, Nick Giovanni, Sequoia's Mike Moritz, Rowe Price, It's, haven't, VCs, DoorDash, hasn't, there's, isn't, Valiant Peregrine Organizations: Sequoia Capital, D1 Capital Partners, Federal, Consumers, Nasdaq, Sequoia, Valiant, D1 Locations: Sequoia, IPOs, U.S, Instacart, SoftBank

☆ Sequoia and Andreessen to take a huge hit on their 2021 Instacart investment, after a 75% plunge in valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Instacart, Andreessen, Covid shutdowns, Nick Giovanni, Sequoia's Mike Moritz, Rowe Price, It's, haven't, VCs, DoorDash, hasn't, there's, isn't, Valiant Peregrine Organizations: Sequoia Capital, D1 Capital Partners, Federal Reserve, Consumers, Nasdaq, Sequoia, Valiant, D1 Locations: Sequoia, IPOs, U.S, Instacart, SoftBank

☆ Marc Andreessen pushes back on fears that AI will kill us all: 'That's not how it works'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen said on the podcast Huberman Lab that fears around AI are overblown. The billionaire venture capitalist said that AI won't "decide to kill us all" and replace jobs. The real concern, he said, is the possibility that AI may end up in the hands of malicious actors. "A lot of the science-fiction scenarios are just not real," Andreessen said on an episode of Huberman Lab, a podcast led by Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist. "AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for solving problems, and we should embrace it as such," Andreessen wrote.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen, Andrew Huberman, Alexis Ohanian isn't, Elon, —, Sam Altman, Andreessen didn't, A16z Organizations: Service, OpenAI Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Room-temperature superconductors and nuclear fusion will need a ChatGPT moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

These are artificial intelligence, room-temperature semiconductors, and nuclear fusion. A lesson from ChatGPT: people get excited by progress when they understand what it means. In South Korea last month, researchers declared the discovery of the world's first room-temperature, ambient pressure superconductor – a rock-like material known as LK-99. But if Andreessen and his ilk want the general public to get excited by nuclear energy and superconductors, they have the answer in their own backyard in ChatGPT. Humans need to see and understand the benefits of progress for themselves.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Thiel, LLMs, chatbot, Marc Andreessen, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Andreessen Organizations: Milken, Peking University, Times, Milken Institute Locations: Korea, Beijing, Silicon, California, ChatGPT

☆ Humanity is on the brink of major scientific breakthroughs, but nobody seems to care
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Humanity could be on the brink of making major progress in multiple areas of science. These are artificial intelligence, room-temperature superconductors, and nuclear fusion. A lesson from ChatGPT: people get excited by progress when they understand what it means. It's not a surprising attitude from the man who also said "we wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." Efforts remain underway to replicate a room-temperature superconductor's creation.

☆ Get the lowdown on 'e/acc' — Silicon Valley's favorite obscure theory about progress at all costs, which has been embraced by Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There's a new ideological interest in Silicon Valley: effective accelerationism. It's called effective accelerationism. The more formalized e/acc idea has taken shape on Twitter and through Substack newsletters since 2022. In an e/acc world, no idea that offers hypothetical value should be considered too absurd, too dangerous, too out there to make a reality. But one thing does seem certain: as long as AI remains front and center, so too will effective accelerationism.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, It's, Garry Tan, Sam Bankman, Fried, Michael M, Nick Land, Freeman, ChatGPT, Marc Andreessen's, Tan, Y Organizations: Tech, acc, Morning, Twitter, Getty, University of Warwick Locations: Silicon Valley, British, Francisco

☆ Washington's AI discussions are focused on beating China as part of a new Cold War, says Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AI is shaping up to be a new Cold War with China, according to Marc Andreessen. The Silicon Valley veteran discussed US policymakers' plans on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Washington's leaders are determined that the US will beat China in a global race to dominate AI as a new Cold War takes shape, according to Marc Andreessen. Andreessen added that Washington's policymakers said not only do they need "American AI to succeed," but that they need to "beat the Chinese." Andreessen said Beijing's leaders "view AI as a way to achieve population control" because "they're authoritarians."

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Joe Rogan, a16z, Andreessen, Elon Musk Organizations: Silicon, China, Google, Microsoft, Meta, White, Representatives Locations: China, it's, Washington

☆ Marc Andreessen says AI will function as a lifelong 'partner' for kids with full insight into everything they've done and want — and he thinks that's a good thing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marc Andreessen championed AI as a personalized teaching tool for children in a podcast interview. In AI, children will have a partner "whose goal in life will be to make them as happy and satisfied and successful as possible," he said. Billionaire tech investor Marc Andreessen — who has long been bullish on the tech — thinks AI is a lifelong "ally" for the children of tomorrow as they both grow up together. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast last Wednesday, Andreessen shared how he had introduced his 8-year-old son to the viral AI chatbot ChatGPT as an educational tool. One e-commerce CEO sparked outrage for laying off 90% of his support staff after an AI chatbot outperformed them.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Marc Andreessen —, Joe Rogan, Andreessen, it's, Andreessen Horowitz, Wharton, Ethan Mollick Organizations: ChatGPT, Morning, Billionaire, Microsoft

☆ Marc Andreessen throws his support behind an Elon Musk-Mark Zuckerberg cage fight in a talk with Peter Thiel
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen, speaking on a panel with Peter Thiel, backed a Zuckerberg-Musk cage fight. Andreessen and Thiel also said, unrelated, that attendees should homeschool their kids. Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen is apparently rooting for Tesla's Elon Musk and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg to square off in a cage match. He and PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel also urged the event's attendees to homeschool their children, Puck reported. Representatives for both Andreessen and Thiel did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Zuckerberg, Andreessen, Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Puck's Dylan Byers, Andreessen Horowitz, Puck Organizations: Morning, Allen & Company, Allen, Co, Zuckerberg, New York Times, Thiel Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho, Idaho, Silicon

☆ The real reason Marc Andreessen is urging billionaires to homeschool their kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marc Andreessen told billionaires to homeschool their children at the Sun Valley conference. Legendary venture capital investor Marc Andreessen has used this week's Sun Valley conference to espouse the benefits of homeschooling. Musk and Zuckerberg have been been trading barbs online since Musk summoned Zuckerberg to a cage fight last month. Meanwhile, it's not the first time that Andreessen has called for more homeschooling. "It certainly feels like we're on the front end of a pretty dramatic homeschooling boom," Andreessen said.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, “ We’re, Puck's Dylan Byers, Peter Thiel, Andreessen, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Byers, Musk, Zuckerberg, it's, Colossus, Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Sun, Morning

☆ Elon Musk and 'jacked' Mark Zuckerberg are great role models, Marc Andreessen says — and kids should learn to fight like the MMA-loving CEOs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen wrote that Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have embraced physical fighting, are good role models. The VC billionaire, who is trained in martial arts, argued that MMA teaches kids self respect. Tech moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg may not just be inspiring to wannabe tech bros and billionaires. "I said, enthusiastically, yes," Andreessen wrote in his blog post. "Both Mark and Elon are top-end role models for children in our society, including my own – whether they end up fighting in the Colosseum or not!"

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Andreessen, Musk, Zuckerberg, Georges St, Pierre, John Danaher, Mark, Elon Organizations: VC, Morning, Tech, Elon, Facebook, Twitter, Sun, Tesla, Bureau of Labor Statistics, of Justice Statistics, UFC Locations: United States, Canadian

☆ Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen says the best startup founders have these 3 traits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The pair discussed a wide range of topics including the rise of AI and the history of Silicon Valley. Andreessen gave a set of traits that he thinks the best founders in Silicon Valley share. Billionaire tech investor Marc Andreessen says the best startup founders in Silicon Valley share a few important traits. Overall, he said he believes the best founders are "some combination" of super-smart, super-energetic, and super-courageous. The best founders are capable of dealing with lots of rejection, he said.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Lex Fridman, Andreessen, Fridman, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Billionaire, Netscape Locations: Silicon Valley, Silicon

☆ Andreessen Horowitz to open its first international office in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, a major cryptocurrency investor, said on Sunday it will set up its first international office in London, at a time when U.S. regulators have increased scrutiny of the cryptocurrency sector. The London office, set to open later this year, will work with universities in the UK and support the development of blockchain technologies and startups, the company said in a statement, adding that it will be led by one of the firm's general partners, Sriram Krishnan. The decision follows talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other authorities for months, Dixon said. Sunak said in the statement he is "determined to unlock opportunities" for blockchain technology and "turn the UK into the world’s Web3 centre". Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Sriram Krishnan, Andreessen, We're, Chris Dixon, Andreessen's, Rishi Sunak, Dixon, Sunak, Rishabh Jaiswal, Muralikumar Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, British, Thomson Locations: London, Bengaluru

☆ Elon Musk says people are 'already cyborgs' because machines maintain our memory for us
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The billionaire tweeted that humans depend on machines to maintain their memory. His comments come as the rise of AI has raised questions about how replaceable humans are. Elon Musk said people are "already cyborgs" because of humanity's dependence on machines to maintain memory. Musk tweeted: "We are already cyborgs. In his tweet, Musk tried to outline the current differences between humans and AI machines.

Persons: Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, Musk, cofound Organizations: Microsoft

☆ LA Tech Week, the summer sequel, is more polished but some of the sizzle is gone
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Unlike most tech conferences where tickets cost thousands, Tech Week is mostly free and open to anyone. If last year's hastily arranged LA Tech Week served as venture firm Andreessen Horowitz's LA coming out party, this year's version – taking place just 10 months later – served as the more polished but lower energy summer sequel. Unlike most tech conferences where tickets cost thousands of dollars, Tech Week, which concludes Sunday, is mostly free and open for anyone to attend or even host their own event. The LA Tech Week kickoff party in Pacific Palisades hosted by Crosscut and 75 & Sunny. Mostly gone unsaid was the dismal state of the tech market, which has worsened considerably since last year's Tech Week; Down rounds and layoffs do not make for great cocktail conversation.

Persons: Andreessen, –, Drew Glover, Glover, Ben Bergman, we'll, Gabe Greenbaum, unsaid, Jeremy Milken, Sophia Amoruso, Nasty, Amoruso Organizations: Tech, LA Tech, Santa, Fiat Ventures, Crosscut, B, Watertower Ventures, Trust Fund, Trust Locations: Santa Monica, marveling, St, LA, Hollywood, Venice, Pacific Palisades, Venice Mexican

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Apple Vision Pro, Big Tech's big AI salaries, and Marc Andreessen's plan to save the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple Vision Pro. Apple's Vision Pro looks amazing, but why buy it? The Vision Pro also comes with a host of caveats beyond the price tag, such as a battery life of just two hours. Read more about the Apple Vision Pro's limits here. He said AI companies should be able to build fast and aggressively — and without regulation.

Persons: Nathan Rennolds, let's, Tony Fadell, Apple, Salesforce's Marc Benioff, Justin Sullivan, Marc Benioff, Marc Andreessen, Travis Kalanick's, Adam Beswick, he's, grads, Z, Leigh Thompson, Jack Sommers Organizations: Apple Vision, Apple, Companies, Meta, Sony, Getty, Salesforce, Amazon, Oracle, Big Tech, CloudKitchens, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Sequoia Capital, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University Locations: London

☆ A.I. doomers are a ‘cult’ — here’s the real threat, according to Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Andreessen Horowitz partner Marc Andreessen Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesVenture capitalist Marc Andreessen is known for saying that "software is eating the world." When it comes to artificial intelligence, he claims people should stop worrying and build, build, build. Andreessen writes that there's a "wall of fear-mongering and doomerism" in the AI world right now. Andreessen writes that people in roles like AI safety expert, AI ethicist and AI risk researcher "are paid to be doomers, and their statements should be processed appropriately," he wrote. In Andreessen's own idealist future, "every child will have an AI tutor that is infinitely patient, infinitely compassionate, infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely helpful."

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen Justin Sullivan, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen, It's, it's, Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Getty Images Venture, Nvidia, Microsoft, Center, AI Safety, Tech Locations: China

Andreessen Horowitz is preparing to launch a fund of funds to invest in other startup backers. A16z has already been courting up-and-coming fund managers at events in San Francisco and LA. The venture-capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz has in recent months been in discussions to form a fund of funds focused on early-stage investing, according to multiple people familiar with the project. In recent months, the firm has started to court up-and-coming fund managers with events in San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to three sources familiar with the firm's plans. Partners at crossover fund Tiger Global tried a similar strategy in recent years, committing $1 billion to back an array of early-stage venture funds.

☆ Silicon Valley Founders and VCs Are Making Sobriety Popular
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sellers is among a growing contingent in the tech community that's going alcohol-free. From founders to investors, members of the startup community are eschewing booze in the name of staying sharp — and healthy. "About six months ago, I stopped drinking alcohol. That's really hard because in this industry, you have to be high energy. That's really hard because in this industry, you have to be high energy.

☆ Marc Andreessen says he feels great after quitting drinking 6 months ago, but he's 'super mad' about being so focused and working until bedtime
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Veteran venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wrote Wednesday that he stopped drinking alcohol 6 months ago. Andreessen said he feels much better since he stopped drinking. In his post, Andreessen said he never really drank in his 20s and 30s, but "grew to really enjoy whiskey" in his 40s. He referenced a podcast episode from neuroscientist Andrew Huberman that distilled the physiological effects of drinking alcohol on the human body and brain. Andreessen admitted in his post that since he stopped drinking he feels better, and not only sleeps better, but needs less sleep.

☆ Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen warns remote work is 'not a good life' for young workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marc Andreessen said remote work has "detonated" the role of office relationships in people's lives. The billionaire said during a summit that young remote workers are "cut off from everything." It's not the first time Andreessen has addressed the rise of remote work. Last year, he said remote work could cause an "earthquake" in how we live. In 2021, he said in a blog post that remote work was "a consequence of the internet that's maybe even more important than the internet."

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