# Joshua Lu

> Joshua Lu is GM and Partner at a16z Speedrun, Andreessen Horowitz's accelerator program that bets on founders at the intersection of gaming, entertainment, and AI. With over a decade of operating experience across Zynga, Blizzard (Diablo Immortal), and Meta (Horizon Worlds), he brings rare founder-operator credibility to a program that accepts fewer than 0.4% of applicants and has backed hundreds of early-stage companies with up to $1M checks plus $5M in vendor credits.

- **Role:** GM + Partner at a16z Speedrun, Andreessen Horowitz
- **Organizations:** Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a16z Speedrun, Closing Theory Studios, Astra (Board Chair), Carina Initiatives (Board of Advisors)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Dual BA in Economics and Diplomacy & World Affairs, Occidental College
- **Known for:** GM of a16z Speedrun, one of the most competitive accelerators in the world (acceptance rate under 0.4%), Oversaw launch of Meta's Horizon Worlds - the flagship metaverse product, Led Diablo Immortal at Blizzard with $250M budget

## Career timeline

- **~2008** — Interned at Yahoo, early career in product management
- **~2010-2012** — Worked on social games at MySpace and Facebook in early product roles
- **~2012-2016** — Head of Product Management at Zynga; Franchise & Studio GM managing $250M P&L for Games With Friends franchise
- **~2016-2018** — Product roles at Disney and Scopely; was founding PM and employee #1 at Scopely
- **~2018-2021** — VP Product, Publishing & Analytics at Blizzard Entertainment; oversaw Diablo Immortal ($250M budget)
- **~2021-2022** — Product Group Lead and Director of PM at Meta, overseeing launch of Horizon Worlds (flagship metaverse product)
- **2022** — Joined Andreessen Horowitz as Investment Partner focused on games and social applications
- **2022** — Helped launch a16z Speedrun accelerator program, initially gaming-focused
- **2023** — Co-founded Closing Theory Studios, raised $2.3M seed round
- **2025** — Expanded a16z Speedrun beyond gaming into a horizontal program across tech, entertainment, and AI
- **2026** — a16z Speedrun SR007 applications open; program now backing 50-70 startups per cohort at up to $1M each

## Achievements

- GM of a16z Speedrun, one of the most competitive accelerators in the world (acceptance rate under 0.4%)
- Oversaw launch of Meta's Horizon Worlds - the flagship metaverse product
- Led Diablo Immortal at Blizzard with $250M budget
- Managed $250M P&L at Zynga for Games With Friends franchise
- Was employee #1 / founding PM at Scopely
- Co-founded Closing Theory Studios, raised $2.3M
- Board Chair at Astra nonprofit
- Notable investments include Series AI, Pahdo Labs, Snapser, Seidr, and Proof of Play
- Built a16z Speedrun from a gaming-only program to a horizontal accelerator backing 50-70 startups per cohort with $1M checks and $5M in vendor credits

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — TechCrunch feature on a16z Speedrun's 0.4% acceptance rate and Lu's framework for evaluating founding teams
- **2025-03** — Reintroduced a16z Speedrun as a horizontal program beyond gaming, now supporting tech, entertainment, and AI founders
- **2025** — a16z Speedrun SR007 applications opened; program now invests up to $1M per company with $5M in vendor credits
- **2024-09** — TechCrunch interview on AI's impact on gaming and Discord as the future of game distribution
- **2023** — Co-founded Closing Theory Studios, which raised a $2.3M seed round

## Links

- Website: https://a16z.com/author/joshua-lu/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshualu
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/JoshLu

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