Tagged: speedrun
13 results
Emily Bennett
Emily Bennett is an Investment Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where she leads investing for a16z speedrun - the firm's high-velocity startup accelerator that has deployed over $180M to 150+ startups since 2023. A neuroscience graduate of Middlebury College (magna cum laude) turned Harvard MBA, she carved a winding path through product roles at Spotify, The New York Times, and Facebook before pivoting fully into venture at Owl Ventures, where she rose to Partner with a focus on edtech. At a16z, her investment thesis centers on AI-native tools that allow single founders to operate what once required entire teams, and she is a vocal advocate for the first AI-native university - an institution where learning paths, schedules, and research adapt in real time through continuous data feedback loops.
Fareed Mosavat
Fareed Mosavat is a Visiting Partner at a16z Speedrun, a 12-week founder accelerator at the intersection of technology and entertainment. He came to venture capital after a career arc that started in physics simulation at Pixar and wound through product and growth leadership at Zynga, RunKeeper, Instacart, and Slack, before he ran product education for thousands of PMs as Chief Development Officer at Reforge. Today he backs AI-native B2B startups, co-hosts the Unsolicited Feedback podcast with Brian Balfour, and writes about what it actually takes to build products people love.
Jonathan Lai
Jonathan Lai is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) where he leads the Speedrun investment program and the Games vertical. A Harvard-trained economist turned product manager turned VC, he built his career arc through Morgan Stanley's investment banking floors, Riot Games' League of Legends product team, Dots (acquired by Take-Two for $192M), and Tencent's North America investments desk before landing at a16z. His investment thesis sits at the intersection of AI and creative technology - believing that the same retention-loop design principles that made League of Legends the world's most-played PC game are now reshaping enterprise software, fintech, and the next generation of AI-native consumer apps.
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.
Katia Ameri
Katia Ameri is a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) focused on the intersection of consumer and technology. An LA native of Iranian descent and Stanford graduate, she was the first investment hire at Pear VC, then founded Mirra - a skincare company that grew to 200,000+ newsletter subscribers with zero ad spend - before joining a16z in 2021. At a16z she leads consumer investments, runs the Speedrun accelerator program, and is the founder of Tech Week by a16z, a decentralized conference series in SF, LA, and NYC that drew 40,000+ attendees and 1,000+ events in New York alone.
Kenan Saleh
Kenan Saleh is an Investment Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) focused on early-stage consumer AI and emerging interfaces through the a16z Speedrun program. Before joining a16z, he built and sold two companies - Halo Cars (acquired by Lyft in 2019 within 9 months) and Stable Finance (acquired by Aave Labs) - grew Lyft Media from zero to $10M+ in revenue as General Manager, and angel-invested in 50+ startups. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and Wharton alum, Saleh brings rare founder-operator credibility to institutional venture capital.
Mayowa Ajayi
Mayowa Ajayi is a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) on the Capital Network team, focused on consumer, AI apps, and speedrun companies. He brings over 15 years of investment banking experience - most recently as Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners and eight years at Barclays in the Global Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group - to the firm's effort to identify and support the next generation of high-growth startups. Since joining a16z in December 2024, he has become a key figure in the a16z speedrun accelerator program and an educator on startup finance fundamentals, translating Wall Street rigor into founder-friendly insights.
Samira Behrouzan
Samira Behrouzan is a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) focused on Marketing and Games, and the force behind a16z speedrun - a pre-seed accelerator that has deployed over $180 million to 150+ startups at the intersection of games and technology. Before joining a16z, she led marketing at 100 Thieves and drove 20+ brand partnerships for Riot Games' Emmy-nominated Arcane series, including boundary-pushing collaborations like bringing ZEDD into VALORANT. A lifelong gamer who grew up on Sega Saturn and N64, she holds an Executive MBA from the IE Brown program and is a vocal advocate for women and underrepresented communities in gaming.
Sharon Chang
Sharon Chang is an Operating Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where she manages fund and deal operations across the Venture, Seed, and speedrun funds. A seasoned operator with over 15 years in product marketing and product management, she previously led marketing at Rockmelt (acquired by Yahoo), directed Yahoo's Digital Magazines initiative, and honed her craft at Opsware and NEC. At a16z she's published definitive playbooks on product marketing and co-hosted podcasts with Ben Horowitz. Beyond the portfolio, she chairs the board of trustees at Woodland School in Portola Valley, runs half marathons, and is deeply rooted in the Bay Area community.
Tony Xia
Tony Xia is a computer vision engineer turned venture scout and startup founder who built his technical chops at DJI, AutoX, and Arraiy (acquired by Matterport) before co-founding Crema Social - a video-call-meets-food-delivery international dating platform that amassed over 1 million signups in 8 months. After graduating from a16z speedrun's Cohort 003, he became a Scout for a16z speedrun, backing pre-seed founders with $10K checks and a direct path into one of Silicon Valley's most competitive accelerators.
Victor Vanbremeersch
Victor Vanbremeersch is a French-born entrepreneur and venture scout operating at the intersection of AI, healthcare, and women's sleep health. As CEO and Co-Founder of Moona Health - an AI-powered CBT-I sleep therapy platform backed by Andreessen Horowitz - and simultaneously a Scout for a16z, he occupies a rare dual role: building a company while sourcing the next generation of founders. Moona Health has raised $3.7M, launched clinical partnerships, and is quietly reshaping how insomnia is diagnosed and treated for women.
Yasin Ehsan
Yasin Ehsan is a New York-bred software engineer turned edtech founder and venture scout. After winning 13 hackathons, landing a job at Capital One the week he graduated, and filing two AWS patents on the Eno chatbot, he co-founded Headstarter - an edtech platform that has helped generate 60+ six-figure job offers for undergrads. In 2025, he joined Andreessen Horowitz's Speedrun accelerator as a scout, bridging the gap between emerging technical talent and Silicon Valley capital.
Andrew Chen
Andrew Chen is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he leads the Games Fund and the Speedrun accelerator program. He is best known for coining the term 'growth hacker' in a 2012 essay that reshaped how Silicon Valley thinks about product distribution, and for his book 'The Cold Start Problem' (2021), a landmark text on how networked products escape the bootstrapping trap. Before a16z, he led Rider Growth at Uber during the company's most explosive era - expanding from dozens to 800 cities and reaching 100 million active riders. A prolific writer with 650+ essays and a Substack newsletter, he is one of the most-read voices on growth, gaming, and consumer startups.