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Sourcery with Molly O'Shea

a16z Just Launched a School With OpenAI, NVIDIA & Anthropic

Gagan Biyani, Founder & CEO of Horowitz Andreessen Academy (fmr Co-Founder of Udemy and Maven), joins Sourcery from a16z’s San Francisco office to unveil a new kind of school built for the AI era.

Gagan BiyaniguestMolly O'SheahostMolly O'Sheahost

Sep 22, 20261h 18mWatch on YouTube ↗

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Chapter summaries

Launching Horowitz Andreessen Academy: a post–high school program for young builders
Gagan Biyani announces Horowitz Andreessen Academy as a new residential program in San Francisco aimed at helping young people get tech jobs or start companies. He frames it as a new model for what education can look like in the AI era, built to be optimistic and practical.
- •The program is post–high school, residential in San Francisco, and designed for young builders pursuing tech careers or startups
- •Gagan describes it as a rethink of what students can do after high school in the AI era
- •He positions the academy as an example of what education could become if it adopted AI-native principles
How it differs from college: unaccredited, project-based, experiential learning
Gagan explains structural differences from traditional universities, emphasizing that the academy will be unaccredited and not credit-hour driven. The focus is on projects—research, learning, and entrepreneurial building—based on the idea that in the AI era students can learn what they need on the job.
- •The academy is unaccredited, allowing it to avoid typical accreditation constraints
- •The program is project-based rather than structured around credits and semesters
- •Projects are grouped into research, learning, and building/entrepreneurial tracks
- •Students can combine real-world exploration (like visiting facilities) with self-driven and academy-provided learning
Gagan’s origin story: building young, lacking support, and wanting a new support structure
Gagan shares how he started a revenue-generating nonprofit effort at 13 and felt discouraged by school rather than supported. He connects that experience to a broader mission: building a better support system for ambitious young people who want to create things.
- •He describes a teenage venture that generated revenue but funneled proceeds to his high school
- •He felt the school tried to shut it down and that few adults encouraged his building instincts
- •He went to college without a clear path into entrepreneurship and later saw the gap in support
- •He says the academy is meant to provide what he wishes he’d had at 13 and at high school graduation
Creating “Silicon Valley’s school”: partners, compute credits, and access to frontier knowledge
Gagan outlines the academy’s strategy of involving partners across the tech ecosystem rather than relying on a single institution. Founding partners will help shape curriculum, provide feedback on talent needs, and offer resources such as compute credits and access to networks.
- •The goal is to involve partners from across tech to make it a broader Silicon Valley effort
- •Founding partners contribute curricular support and ongoing feedback on skills companies want
- •Compute credits and financial resources are positioned as critical enablers for student projects
- •Gagan argues leading AI research increasingly sits at companies, making direct partnerships valuable
Why raise $40M for a school: longevity, revenue streams, and a for-profit model
Molly asks about the $40 million raise, and Gagan explains the need for long-term runway because schools require durability. He describes multiple revenue streams—tuition, corporate partnerships, and potentially equity-related upside tied to student outcomes.
- •Gagan says the academy raised over a few years to ensure longevity rather than a quick round
- •He frames the $40M as confidence the school can operate through to profitability
- •Revenue streams discussed include tuition, corporate partnerships, and potential participation in student-created businesses
- •He emphasizes the academy is designed as a for-profit venture intended to be both financially viable and beneficial
The Founding Class Fellowship (Sept 2027): proof of work, peer network, and Silicon Valley immersion
Gagan clarifies that the initial offering is a one-year Founding Class Fellowship with no tuition (though students cover room and board). He stresses that admissions and culture prioritize proof of work over grades, with deep immersion in Silicon Valley norms, mentors, and peer builders.
- •The announced program is a one-year fellowship starting September 2027 with no tuition
- •Students join to immerse in Silicon Valley principles like builder-first mentality, high agency, and interpersonal skills
- •The academy prioritizes proof of work rather than grades, aiming for a cohort where everyone has built something
- •Gagan highlights the network effect of being surrounded by exceptional peers and connected mentors
Should young builders start companies immediately? Balancing early capital with exploration
Molly raises retention concerns as VCs might try to fund students quickly. Gagan argues most young builders shouldn’t start companies right away and that the first one to two years after high school are important for exploration, maturity, and deciding what to pursue long-term.
- •Gagan describes a tension between traditional university and early VC/angel checks
- •He believes only a very small percentage of young builders should start companies immediately
- •He argues one to two years post–high school is valuable for exploring the world and developing judgment
- •He says the academy will support fast starts when appropriate, but encourages most students not to chase the first decent idea or take money just because it’s available
Why this isn’t YC/Speedrun/Thiel: exploration + structure + cohort camaraderie
Molly compares the academy to fellowships and accelerators. Gagan distinguishes the academy by emphasizing exploratory learning, peer relationships, and structured exposure to many domains—rather than requiring immediate company formation with minimal structure.
- •Gagan praises programs like Speedrun, YC, and fellowships but notes many center on starting a company
- •He argues many students benefit from structured exploration before committing to a 10-year startup path
- •He emphasizes the value of a same-age cohort, co-located housing, and lifelong relationships
- •He highlights structured exposure to founders across areas like crypto, robotics, AI apps, and SaaS as a differentiator
The target archetype: high-agency young builders who create for love, not credentials
After the sponsor break, Molly and Gagan discuss discomfort in traditional college for highly motivated builders. Gagan describes the ideal student as someone who builds out of genuine interest, with moonshot ambition, and who can be identified through deeper evaluation than grades alone.
- •Gagan defines the archetype as young people who feel an itch to produce and build across many formats
- •He distinguishes lifestyle-business paths from the academy’s focus on bigger ambition and longer-term bets
- •He recounts conversations with students who note peers do extracurriculars for college, while they do them for enjoyment
- •He says interviews and portfolio review are essential to detect motivation and proof of work beyond transcripts
Embracing AI in education: selecting AI-optimists and training AI-native workflows
Molly asks about backlash and AI negativity among students. Gagan says the academy will fully embrace AI, target AI-optimists, and teach students to build with AI tools—while also recognizing the importance of understanding what AI is doing rather than outsourcing thinking entirely.
- •Gagan says students who dislike AI likely won’t be a fit, given the academy’s AI-native stance
- •The academy will not ban AI and will enable students with resources to build using it
- •He describes a shift toward the “super IC” and the need to orchestrate increasingly complex agent-based workflows
- •He argues students must understand the work AI is doing, drawing analogies to needing foundational understanding even with calculators
AI, jobs, and optimism: the talent war and education closer to industry
Molly argues universities are often disconnected from real career outcomes, and points to the academy’s proximity to employers and builders. Gagan agrees, rejects AI doomerism, and argues that as AI reshapes industries, the world adapts rather than disappears—positioning the academy as a model for how schools can respond.
- •Molly describes traditional universities as far from employers, creating confusion about AI and work
- •Gagan says being in the top tier of capability matters regardless of one’s AI outlook
- •He claims leading AI companies are still hiring and that the talent war is active
- •He suggests AI will reshape industries the way software reshaped others, and says the academy aims to demonstrate what embracing AI can look like in education
What an AI-native curriculum looks like: minimal classroom, maximal building, accountability pods
Gagan lays out a curriculum designed to preserve most student time for projects. Classes are described as didactic and intended to feed into student-driven work, supported by mentor structures and weekly peer accountability to cultivate high agency without losing direction.
- •The curriculum is designed to keep most time (he cites 75–80%) focused on projects
- •Classes cover topics like product sense, AI architecture, negotiating, and interpersonal skills, but are kept didactic
- •Students choose their own projects to maintain creativity and agency rather than completing templated assignments
- •Weekly (or frequent) check-ins within small pods and mentor support provide accountability and guidance
Why high-agency students struggle in college: Gagan’s Berkeley experience and the “post-Alpha” gap
Molly and Gagan discuss how students trained for self-directed building can find college stifling. Gagan shares his own academic credentials and dissatisfaction at Berkeley, describing how he had to design his own path without peers—and argues the academy can become a natural next step for similar students, including those from Alpha School and other “misfits.”
- •Gagan describes strong standardized-test and AP performance but shifting focus toward building in high school
- •He recounts being rejected from many schools, attending UC Berkeley, and finding it stifling for builders
- •He says he juggled many jobs and pursued autonomy but lacked peers doing the same thing
- •He argues high-agency students from schools like Alpha School (and others nationwide) may struggle in conventional college environments and seek a better fit
Who should apply and how selection works: portfolios, slope, and multi-step evaluation
Gagan and Molly discuss the diversity of founder paths and the common trait of high agency. Gagan encourages ambitious listeners to apply even if they may not get in, describing the application itself as a learning experience and explaining that admissions will emphasize growth trajectory (“slope”), portfolios, and interviews, with additional assessments later in the process.
- •Molly describes founders as varied in background, with common traits like agency, curiosity, and perseverance
- •Gagan argues zigzag careers can be more resilient than rigid tracks and says building skills create security
- •He encourages applying even without certainty, framing the application as helpful for reframing one’s path
- •Admissions elements include a portfolio, interviews, and later-stage assessments such as personality and writing evaluation, with emphasis on growth and learning velocity rather than years of experience
Teaching failure and building a positive-sum culture—and the program roadmap through 2028
Molly asks how the academy will teach failure, and Gagan emphasizes resilience without glamorizing failure, plus a supportive environment modeled on Silicon Valley’s “positive-sum” ethos. He then clarifies logistics: the 2027 fellowship has no tuition but requires room and board, while a later two-year program is planned pending regulatory approval, with tuition positioned at elite-university levels and an expectation the academy will adapt over time.
- •Gagan says failure is painful but should be met with learning, support, and momentum toward what’s next
- •He describes Silicon Valley’s culture as unusually supportive and aims to build a positive-sum environment at the academy
- •He outlines the 2027 one-year fellowship as no-tuition (room and board paid by students)
- •He previews a planned two-year program in 2028 pending regulatory approval, with tuition set at or above elite private universities and a commitment to evolve as AI changes
Why San Francisco, who shaped Gagan, and a favorite book on climate optimism
In closing, Gagan rejects the Alcatraz idea and says the academy needs to be in the heart of San Francisco so students experience the city. He reflects on the friends and peers who anchored him from an early age and recommends a book he says holds nuanced truths about serious problems and progress.
- •Gagan says the academy should be in San Francisco’s core to expose students to the city and its environment
- •He credits longtime friendships formed early in life as a stabilizing foundation and hopes the academy helps students build similar bonds
- •He contrasts pride in his high school experience with a more mixed view of college fit for builders
- •He recommends the book "Not the End of the World" and explains why he values nuanced, optimistic framing around serious issues

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