Andreessen Horowitz

“Our way forward to building a new AI economy is by spurring innovation and fostering competition." a16z and Microsoft recognize that the AI policy choices – or missteps – we make now will determine whether the U.S. can continue our long and proud history of fostering innovation and seeing startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs succeed. Together, Ben Horowitz, Marc Andreessen and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Brad Smith outline policy ideas for AI startups so they can thrive, collaborate, and compete. By advocating for open access, fair competition, and responsible policies, they’re hoping that startups and established players alike can drive the next wave of AI growth. Read the full piece: https://bit.ly/4hr7esJ

Deepfakes are now fully in the zeitgeist—from politics to commerce, and social media—but detection is keeping pace. Pindrop cofounder & CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan, joins Martin Casado on the a16z Podcast to discuss the technology, policy, and economy behind deepfakes. He shares how: - Advances in detection could reduce the need for broad AI regulations. - Detection is now cheaper than deepfake creation, making defense affordable and scalable. - Detection tools catch subtle nuances that deepfakes struggle to mimic, providing a reliable line of defense to protect trust and authenticity. Check out the full episode and let us know what you think: https://lnkd.in/gB6HtE9h Some of the companies mentioned in this podcast are portfolio companies of a16z. A list of investments made by a16z is available at https://lnkd.in/g7hjSuHb.

Crypto has broken into the national discourse during this election season. One reason why: the listing of Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded products (ETPs) in 2024. As a result, the number of Americans who hold could grow, as ETPs make investing in these assets easier and more accessible. So where do swing states stand on their relative interest in crypto? a16z crypto parsed the data, showing which states have shown the biggest jumps in interest since the last election in 2020. (See the largest swing state movements in the image below.) Take a look, and see what politicians including Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and several prominent senators and members of Congress have said recently about their stances on crypto, in this year’s State of Crypto report: https://bit.ly/3YvxMQW

Elon Musk and Tesla have invested heavily in a vision driven by general-purpose AI and end-to-end deep learning—a reflection of 'The Bitter Lesson' in computer science, where general methods outperform specialized ones. In the latest a16z podcast, Erin Price-Wright and Anjney Midha break down how this approach aligns with Tesla’s innovation and discuss why the real economic opportunity in robotics over the next decade lies in teleoperation, not humanoid robots. With huge potential in production applications, TeleOp poses both a challenge and an exciting opportunity for builders. More on this and the future of robotics and AI: https://bit.ly/3Uv3gpj

We’re thrilled to announce we are leading Series A for [untitled], the company building a new operating system for music creators. AI is driving an explosion in music creation, fundamentally changing how music is made and who makes it. But the software musicians are using is still largely stuck in the past.  [untitled] is taking on the outdated, fragmented tools musicians currently rely on. Their mission? To inspire and empower all creators—from professional artists to bedroom hobbyists—by enhancing the creative process for everyone. [untitled]’s beachhead product allows artists to create, edit, and share their music seamlessly on mobile, with secure collaboration and AI-powered tools, including stem splitting. Already trusted by 100,000+ users, including top industry professionals, [untitled] is redefining how music is produced and shared. Cofounders Dan Lilienthal and José C. and the [untitled] team are dedicated to building the next great, cross-platform product for musicians to do their work. As a musician himself, Anish Acharya believes [untitled] will be a foundational product in this new era, where AI is transforming how music is made. More: https://lnkd.in/eT-Nz3vb

“I drink your milkshake.” In "There Will Be Blood," tycoon Daniel Plainview finds a way to tap into a neighbor’s oil without buying their land—claiming what’s underneath. In the world of startups, Joe Schmidt IV writes, AI wedge strategies are doing something similar, allowing them to capture valuable data and streamline processes before they ever hit traditional systems. These AI wedges work by automating data capture at the source—like voice, email, or messaging—and seamlessly integrating into legacy platforms like Salesforce, ServiceNow, or Guidewire. This gives startups an edge over incumbents, allowing them to grow faster and streamline critical workflows, Joe writes. Take Liberate for example: They’ve built an AI voice agent that captures insurance claims data before it even enters traditional systems. The result? A 90% reduction in administrative overhead for insurers. And this isn’t just limited to voice. 11x automates lead generation and meeting bookings via voice and email, replacing the traditional SDR workflow. hyperexponential speeds up insurance pricing by structuring messy submissions with AI, while Fixify reduces IT ticket resolution times by automating issue triaging and recurring tasks.

"Developers shouldn't have to develop for one company's hardware." AMD CEO Lisa Su on the power of specialization and why open ecosystems are key to unlocking innovation. Check out the full episode where Lisa Su and Bob Swan uncover why open ecosystems and specialized computing are essential for unlocking the full potential of AI across industries: https://bit.ly/4eWLHXa

LLMs are quickly solving what we call "the messy inbox problem" —the overwhelming flood of unstructured data that slows down businesses across industries, from healthcare to freight. These AI models are automating top-of-funnel manual tasks, historically responsible for clogging operations, wasting countless hours, and creating bottlenecks in downstream processes. By synthesizing voice and text data from faxes, emails, PDFs, and call transcripts, and systematically extracting key information, LLMs are automating top-of-funnel manual workflows—emerging as a powerful wedge strategy for companies to streamline operations and gain a competitive edge. In his latest post, David Haber explores how AI applications, particularly those leveraging LLMs, are reshaping industries by owning the top of the data funnel, positioning startups to eventually displace legacy systems. Companies like Tennr, Heron Data, Happyrobot, and Eve are already capitalizing on this trend. Read more on how on how AI is transforming workflows and disrupting legacy systems: https://lnkd.in/gkAVzFwF

We are thrilled to lead the latest round of financing for Infinitus Systems, Inc., builder of the first AI platform to automate healthcare phone calls and data gathering. Despite the U.S. healthcare system spending $82.7 billion annually on administrative tasks, it remains inefficient and undisrupted. Instead of prioritizing patient care, much of the time is wasted waiting on hold, and a significant amount of healthcare data is still exchanged through phone calls between payors, providers, patients, and pharmaceutical companies. These calls, whether for prior authorizations or payment disputes, are cumbersome and costly—leading to delays in patient access to treatment as well as increased rates of agent burnout in call centers. Infinitus is tackling this by automating these processes, meaningfully accelerating patient access to care, improving data quality, and reducing costly employee turnover. More from Scott Kupor on why we're excited about what Ankit Jain, Shyam Rajagopalan, and the Infinitus team are building: https://lnkd.in/dRSjSBMN

How do you launch Apple Pay when only 3% of merchants accept contactless payments—and turn it into a global powerhouse? Just ask Jennifer Bailey, who took on the payments industry, and led Apple Pay’s rise from a risky bet to a global leader. 10 years later, it’s reshaped how millions around the world pay. Starting her career at Netscape, Jennifer witnessed the birth of the commercial internet, learning critical lessons in innovation and disruption—insights she later brought to Apple. When she spearheaded Apple Pay’s launch, Jennifer and her team didn’t just build a product—they transformed an entire ecosystem. From educating customers and merchants to navigating regulatory hurdles and driving global expansion, they set the foundation for mobile payments worldwide. Jennifer led Apple Pay through a complex global landscape, from fast adopters like Saudi Arabia to more cautious markets like Germany. Each market brought new challenges, but Apple Pay's focus on privacy and security built the trust needed to turn it into a global leader. Jennifer didn’t stop there. She also spearheaded the development of Apple Card and Wallet, expanding Apple’s footprint in digital finance. Her advice for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs: "If you believe what you have is truly valuable from a consumer perspective, you need to stay patient and tenacious in making it happen." Listen to Jennifer Bailey’s full journey and reflections on 10 years of leading Apple Pay on the a16z podcast: https://bit.ly/3A4H6TP