E26: Ben Horowitz on AI, the Future of Venture Capital, and Wartime VCs

Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and one of the most influential venture capitalists of the last decade, sits down with Erik for Turpentine VC. They shed light on how Ben thinks about firm-building and where the future is going. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/upstream

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TIMESTAMPS:

(01:00) Episode Preview

(03:55) Ben on what allows the legendary VC firms to be great for multi-decades

(05:05) a16z’s unique product-first, investor-second approach

(06:20) YC as a16z’s closest spiritual analog

(09:40) Ben on why venture firms should stay private

(11:40) How a16z scaled their fund sizes to market opportunities

(12:40) Why a16z chose to go bigger than Benchmark or USV on fund size

(14:20) “Spreadsheet” VCs vs. people-first VCs

(16:00) a16z’s customer-focused strategy

(17:28) The firm’s unique approach to governance

(17:50) Sponsor: Mercury, Vanta

(19:55) Shared economics and centralized control

(21:20) Ben’s view on the future of venture

(24:00) How Ben thinks about riding trends like AI, crypto, etc.

(27:00) a16z’s AI strategy

(32:00) Will a16z expand into multi-asset firms like BlackRock?

(33:00) How a16z thinks about their LPs differently from other firms

(35:28) Sponsor: NetSuite

(38:00) Peacetime vs. Wartime VCs

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LINKS:

Why Software Is Eating the World: https://a16z.com/why-software-is-eating-the-world/

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X / TWITTER:

@bhorowitz (Ben)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@TurpentineVC