# Chase Roberts

> Chase Roberts is an AI Ops Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he supports the firm's infrastructure team across AI operations, go-to-market strategy, and portfolio company scaling. A self-described 'VC coach for entrepreneurs,' he built his career across five years at Box in sales and partnerships, a stint launching Segment's BD function, and a tenure as a principal at Vertex Ventures US before serving as COO at Northflank - a developer platform startup he had personally backed. Now at a16z, Roberts brings a rare operator-investor hybrid lens to the AI infrastructure moment, writing and thinking publicly about why AI will expand enterprise software markets rather than shrink them.

- **Role:** AI Ops Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
- **Organizations:** Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Northflank, Vertex Ventures US, Segment, Box, Neuberger Berman
- **From:** Oklahoma, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Finance & Entrepreneurship/Venture Management (summa cum laude), Minor in Economics and Spanish, University of Oklahoma, MBA (Evening & Weekend Program, EWMBA), UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
- **Known for:** Joined a16z as AI Ops Partner on the Infrastructure team, one of tech's most influential VC firms, Led the Seed round investment in Northflank while at Vertex Ventures, then joined as COO, Built and led Segment's business development team as its first BD hire

## Career timeline

- **2011-2012** — Private Equity/Venture Capital Analyst at Neuberger Berman
- **2012-2013** — Equity Research Associate at Sterne Agee
- **2013-2017** — Multiple go-to-market roles at Box, from Sales Development Rep to Sr. Manager Partner Strategy & Alliances; sent a cold email to Box CEO Aaron Levie to land the role
- **2016-2019** — MBA at UC Berkeley Haas (Evening & Weekend program, Class of 2019)
- **2017-2019** — Sr. Manager, Strategic Partnerships at Segment; first BD hire, helped build the business development function
- **2019-2024** — Principal at Vertex Ventures US, investing in early-stage B2B startups with focus on data infrastructure and enterprise software; led Seed round in Northflank in October 2022
- **2024** — Joined Northflank as COO after backing the company as a VC; led go-to-market and administrative functions
- **2025-present** — AI Ops Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), supporting the Infrastructure team

## Achievements

- Joined a16z as AI Ops Partner on the Infrastructure team, one of tech's most influential VC firms
- Led the Seed round investment in Northflank while at Vertex Ventures, then joined as COO
- Built and led Segment's business development team as its first BD hire
- Graduated summa cum laude from University of Oklahoma with dual degrees
- Published widely-read Medium articles on enterprise software and AI, including a rebuttal to Chamath Palihapitiya
- Grew from entry-level sales at Box to Partner Strategy & Alliances over five years
- Featured in Haas School of Business podcast as example of non-traditional VC career path

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Listed as AI Ops Partner on a16z's Infrastructure team profile page
- **2025-02** — Published 'Chamath is wrong: AI won't kill enterprise software' on Medium
- **2024-11** — Published 'Software's Manufacturing Revolution: Why I'm Joining Northflank' announcing COO role
- **2024-10** — Joined Northflank as Chief Operating Officer after backing the company as a VC

## Links

- Website: https://a16z.com/author/chase-roberts/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chasecroberts
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/chsrbrts

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chase-roberts
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-09