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☆ Andreessen Horowitz raises $7.2 billion, a sign that tech startup market may be bouncing back
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Andreessen Horowitz said Tuesday that it raised $7.2 billion across five different funds, a sign of optimism in the tech startup world, which has seen a dearth of significant exits over the past two years. Deal volume for U.S. venture investments in the first quarter sank to its lowest level since 2017, according to data published earlier this month by PitchBook. The firm raised a $4.5 billion crypto fund in 2022, bringing its total amount raised for crypto and blockchain investments to $7.6 billion. Andreessen Horowitz remains on track to raise more money for its crypto fund and a separate biotechnology fund, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Andreessen Horowitz wrote a $350 million check to the company, which was just getting started and has yet to make inroads in the residential real estate market.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Horowitz, PitchBook, bitcoin, Adam Neumann Organizations: Bloomberg, PitchBook, Astera Labs, CNBC Locations: Silicon Valley, U.S

☆ Ben Horowitz: We have to make sure AI regulation doesn't slow down the tech industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBen Horowitz: We have to make sure AI regulation doesn't slow down the tech industryAndreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz and General Partner David Ulevitch sit down with "Closing Bell: Overtime" anchor Morgan Brennan for an exclusive interview to discuss the role of government regulations in the tech industry, how the US can compete with China in AI, the future of defense tech and more.

Persons: Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, David Ulevitch, Morgan Brennan Locations: China

☆ 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

☆ As the IPO market comes back to life, Navan (formerly TripActions) is targeting an April 2024 listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The company is now targeting a late April 2024 IPO, Insider has learned. Navan, formerly known as TripActions, is now targeting a late April 2024 IPO, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter not authorized to speak publicly. However, this month the nearly two year dormant IPO market has finally shown signs of coming to life. Andreessen Horowitz first invested in TripActions in 2018, when it led the company's series C funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation and general partner Ben Horowitz joined the board. Navan has raised more than $2 billion in equity and debt financing since it was founded 2015, according to Pitchbook.

Persons: Ariel Cohen, Kelly Soderlund, Instacart, Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz, It's, " Horowitz Organizations: Navan, NASDAQ, Bloomberg, Softbank, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, Zeev Ventures Locations: Navan, Caplight, TripActions

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ TripActions Rebrands as Navan, Adds ChatGPT to Expense Reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

TripActions, a business-travel software startup, plans to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT capabilities across its online platform, an effort aimed at seizing market share by making expense reports easier to use. That way, the expense report is generated during the trip as expenses are incurred, Mr. Cohen said. “Generally, software in the business-to-business space is designed to serve the company,” rather than the employees, Mr. Cohen said. “Using AI helps you create the kind of software that I’m talking about,” Mr. Cohen said. PREVIEWSAP Concur has also begun using AI in its travel and expense software, which can “tap decades of expense data and experience tracking to identify hard-to-detect spend issues and anomalies,” said Charlie Sultan, president of Concur Travel.

☆ ChatGPT got all the buzz, but beneath it is a $1B developer framework that's quietly fueling the new era of lifelike AI at OpenAI and beyond
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Matthew Lynley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Beneath the buzz, the next-generation developer framework Ray was key in the viral model's training. "ChatGPT combined a lot of the previous work on large language models with reinforcement as well. Before deploying Ray, OpenAI used a hodgepodge set of custom tools built on top of "neural programmer-interpreter" model. All these tools, Ray and JAX included, are in service to a new generation of combustion engines for the internet called large language models. Multiple companies, both startups and giants, are building their own large language models including Meta, Hugging Face, OpenAI, and Google.

☆ The 5 best leadership books I read this year — and what they taught me about running a company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( David Siegel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For a roadmap for effective, kind leadership and smart decision-making, he shares 5 book recommendations. Publishing a leadership book gave me a newfound perspective on the genre. Here are the top five leadership books I read in 2022 and why I found each one particularly enriching. After reading The Promise of a Pencil, I learned how seemingly small acts can make a world of difference in communities. For anyone considering executive coaching or looking to find a coach, this book is a must-read.

☆ Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication Future is shutting down
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Rob Price | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A source familiar with Andreessen Horowitz's content strategy confirmed to Insider that Future is shutting down. An Andreessen Horowitz spokesperson declined to comment on the record. Joe LonsdaleIn this new climate, many tech and venture firms' media strategy has shifted from glorified marketing to a more full-fledged editorial operation. In 2021, an army of more than two dozen marketers at Andreessen Horowitz doubled down on this approach. Disclosure: Melia Russell's husband is a former employee of Andreessen Horowitz.

☆ How fintech super-connector Rex Salisbury went from A16Z's first fintech team hire to solo capitalist with a $20 million debut fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Salisbury's deal flow comes from a community of fintech founders he's cultivated over the years. That surprised Salisbury, the lone partner at new fintech firm Cambrian Ventures, given that he'd never met the OatFi founders before. Though, Salisbury defied the first-time fund manager's curse when he closed $20 million for his inaugural fund in June. "I want people to have gotten value in some sense before we invest, or even if we never invest," Salisbury told Insider. When Salisbury left the firm, he took a part of the brand with him.

☆ Crypto PACs backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, Scaramucci plan last-minute midterm ad blitz
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A network of political action committees supported by cryptocurrency industry leaders are planning a last-minute ad campaign in support of congressional candidates, according to one of the groups' chief strategists. Web3 Forward and Crypto Innovation, two super PACs financed by the crypto executives, are both expected to spend at least six figures on an ad blitz starting in two weeks, the strategist explained. During the primary season, Web3 Forward backed Democrats running for Congress, while Crypto Innovation supported Republicans, according to Federal Election Commission records. The spending by the crypto PACs will add to a flurry of cash flowing in what are expected to be the most expensive midterm elections ever. Former Trump White House communications director and SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci donated $100,000 to Crypto Innovation in March, according to an FEC filing.

☆ Marc Andreessen on the best investment advice he's ever received and 4 other money insights
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( David Rubenstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen: From Warren Buffett, probably: Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket. Marc Andreessen: People read about something in the paper, see it on TV, and take a flyer without deeply understanding it. Marc Andreessen: For most forms of investing, the mistakes are the investments you make where you lose money. David Rubenstein: If somebody wants to be a venture capital investor, what would you like them to know most about the art of` venture capital investing? Marc Andreessen: It's an alchemy of understanding people, understanding technology, understanding markets.

☆ Startup founders are panicked amid a market meltdown, but most VCs don't want to hear it. 'It's like don't ask, don't tell.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"It's like don't ask, don't tell," Josh Felser, a successful founder and outspoken investor, said. The following report on how startup founders are coping with the funding crunch was originally published on August 4. Seven Seven Six partner Katelin Holloway. Her investor, Seven Seven Six, pays for its founders to participate. Caleb Frankel, whose Seven Seven Six-backed startup, EarlyBird, helps families invest in their kid's financial future, wants desperately to have kids, but he and his wife have struggled with pregnancy loss.

☆ Exclusive: TripActions has filed confidentially for an IPO, targeting a $12 billion valuation, a rare exception in the frozen IPO market
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TripActions, which was last valued at $7.25 billion, aims to modernize business travel. Founded in 2015 by Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig, the Palo Alto-based company helps businesses manage travel, company cards and expenses for employees. At the time, Cohen said TripActions had originally planned to go public this year but delayed those plans when the market went south. TripActions raised $275 million in series F funding last fall at a $7.25 billion valuation in a deal led by Greenoaks. Andreessen Horowitz first invested in TripActions in 2018, when it led the company's series C funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation.

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