# Ben Horowitz

> Ben Horowitz is the co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the most influential venture capital firms in the world managing over $90 billion in assets. A former CEO who took Loudcloud public during the dot-com winter and sold Opsware to HP for $1.65 billion, Horowitz brings an operational depth to VC that most investors lack. He's also a bestselling author, a genuine hip-hop head who wrote his famous management blog posts with rap epigraphs, and one of the most candid voices in Silicon Valley on the psychological realities of leadership.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
- **Organizations:** Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Horowitz Family Foundation, Paid in Full Foundation
- **From:** London, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., Computer Science, Columbia University, M.S., Computer Science, UCLA
- **Known for:** Co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), managing $90+ billion in assets as of 2026, Turned near-bankrupt Loudcloud into Opsware, sold to HP for $1.65 billion in 2007, Two New York Times bestselling books on management and culture

## Career timeline

- **1990** — Engineer at Silicon Graphics
- **1992** — Senior product marketing roles at Lotus Development Corporation
- **1995** — Joined Netscape as Product Manager; rapidly promoted to VP and GM
- **1998** — VP of eCommerce Division at AOL after Netscape acquisition
- **1999** — Co-founded Loudcloud with Marc Andreessen, Tim Howes, and In Sik Rhee
- **2000** — Loudcloud raises $120M Series B - largest second-round at the time
- **2001** — Took Loudcloud public in dot-com winter; stock later fell to $0.35/share
- **2002** — Pivoted: sold Loudcloud hosting to EDS for $63.5M; rebranded remaining software as Opsware
- **2007** — HP acquires Opsware for $1.65 billion in cash
- **2007-2009** — VP and GM at HP Software (3,000 employees, $2.8B revenue)
- **2009** — Co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with $300M initial fund
- **2012** — Led $15M investment in Rap Genius (now Genius)
- **2014** — Published 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' - NYT bestseller
- **2018** — Launched a16z Cultural Leadership Fund with LPs including Nas, Diddy, Will Smith
- **2019** — Published 'What You Do Is Who You Are' - NYT bestseller
- **2024** — Endorsed Trump; later also donated to Harris campaign in unusual dual support
- **2026** — a16z raises $15B - its largest fund ever, bringing AUM to $90B+

## Achievements

- Co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), managing $90+ billion in assets as of 2026
- Turned near-bankrupt Loudcloud into Opsware, sold to HP for $1.65 billion in 2007
- Two New York Times bestselling books on management and culture
- Early investor in Facebook, Airbnb, GitHub, Coinbase, Twitter, Slack, Lyft, Pinterest, Roblox
- GitHub investment returned over $1 billion when Microsoft acquired it for $7.5 billion
- Coinbase investment at $25M grew to $86B+ valuation at IPO
- Created the Cultural Leadership Fund, donating $2.5M to nonprofits supporting Black tech entrepreneurship
- Pioneered the concept of the 'CEO as warrior' management philosophy in Silicon Valley
- Recognized as one of the most influential people in technology by multiple publications

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Invested $25M with Marc Andreessen in 'Leading the Future' PAC supporting AI-friendly politicians
- **2026-04** — Published analysis on 'AI Anxiety' arguing AI has permanently destroyed traditional software competitive moats
- **2026-01** — a16z raises $15 billion - its largest fund ever - bringing total AUM to $90B+
- **2025-04** — Father David Horowitz dies at 86; Ben posted tribute on X/Twitter
- **2025-01** — Donated $3 million to MAGA Inc. (Trump super PAC)
- **2024-10** — Surprising reversal: donated to Kamala Harris campaign despite earlier Trump endorsement
- **2024-07** — Released 90-minute podcast with Marc Andreessen announcing Trump endorsement for 2024 presidential race

## Links

- Website: https://a16z.com/author/ben-horowitz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/behorowitz
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/bhorowitz

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-horowitz
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-29