The Frontier Ideas a16z Wants to Fund Now | Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz & Chris Dixon

a16z is expanding a16z crypto into a16z Frontier, a broader mandate to back founders building at the edges of what's possible. Chris Dixon joins Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and Erik Torenberg to explain why founders should increasingly ask not “is this too ambitious?” but “is this ambitious enough?” — and how AI could pull decades of technological progress forward across hardware, robotics, entertainment, science, and entirely new forms of media. They also explore the coming internet of AI agents, why open source matters as AI becomes more powerful, and why some of the most important companies of the next decade may combine technologies and business models that previously belonged in separate categories. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:49 Announcing a16z Frontier 15:15 Is being too early still a risk? 18:18 The widest gap between early adopters and everyone else 22:06 Will AI favor incumbents or startups? 28:33 AI social networks and agents online 30:08 Beyond “product manager brain”: games, film and hardware 38:22 Is AI centralizing? The case for open source 46:37 The internet’s broken covenant 49:12 What comes after the iPhone 53:59 What to study if you’re 18 today Resources: Follow Chris Dixon on X: https://x.com/cdixon Follow Marc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarca Follow Ben Horowitz on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz Learn more about a16z Frontier: a16zfrontier.com a16zfrontier.substack.com x.com/a16zfrontier Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Chris DixonguestMarc AndreessenguestBen HorowitzguestErik Torenberghost

Oct 22, 20261h 0mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 22, 2026
Duration: 1h 0m
Channel: a16z
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

a16z is expanding a16z crypto into a16z Frontier, a broader mandate to back founders building at the edges of what's possible. Chris Dixon joins Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and Erik Torenberg to explain why founders should increasingly ask not “is this too ambitious?” but “is this ambitious enough?” — and how AI could pull decades of technological progress forward across hardware, robotics, entertainment, science, and entirely new forms of media. They also explore the coming internet of AI agents, why open source matters as AI becomes more powerful, and why some of the most important companies of the next decade may combine technologies and business models that previously belonged in separate categories. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:49 Announcing a16z Frontier 15:15 Is being too early still a risk? 18:18 The widest gap between early adopters and everyone else 22:06 Will AI favor incumbents or startups? 28:33 AI social networks and agents online 30:08 Beyond “product manager brain”: games, film and hardware 38:22 Is AI centralizing? The case for open source 46:37 The internet’s broken covenant 49:12 What comes after the iPhone 53:59 What to study if you’re 18 today Resources: Follow Chris Dixon on X: https://x.com/cdixon Follow Marc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarca Follow Ben Horowitz on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz Learn more about a16z Frontier: a16zfrontier.com a16zfrontier.substack.com x.com/a16zfrontier Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

SPEAKERS

Chris Dixon
guest
General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz focused on crypto/web3 investing and infrastructure.
Marc Andreessen
guest
Co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz and co-creator of the Mosaic/Netscape web browser.
Ben Horowitz
guest
Co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz and former CEO/co-founder of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud).
Erik Torenberg
host
Podcast host at a16z who interviews founders and investors about technology and startups.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of a16z, featuring Chris Dixon and Marc Andreessen, The Frontier Ideas a16z Wants to Fund Now | Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz & Chris Dixon explores a16z launches Frontier to back AI-, crypto-, and agent-driven leaps a16z is rebranding and expanding its crypto fund into “a16z Frontier” to invest in cross-cutting, early, high-variance technologies that don’t fit existing vertical practices.

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