Andreessen Horowitz renames crypto unit a16z Frontier and widens investment remit
Chris Dixon says the venture capital firm will back a broader range of emerging technologies while continuing to invest in crypto and related companies.
Andreessen Horowitz announced on October 22 that it is renaming its crypto investment unit a16z Frontier and expanding its remit beyond crypto startups. The change opens the fund to a broader range of emerging technologies, while the firm says it will continue backing crypto ventures.
Chris Dixon, who leads the unit, described its new focus as ‘frontier startups’: companies developing technologies and creating markets that may take years to mature. Fortune reported that the wider remit includes artificial intelligence and robotics. The expanded brief gives the team scope to consider companies outside the digital asset businesses it was set up to back.
Why a16z is widening its crypto strategy
Dixon argued that blockchain technology is increasingly used within businesses that are not usually defined as crypto companies. Wall Street and financial technology firms regularly launch products built on blockchains, he wrote, making the dividing line between crypto and other sectors less useful as a way to classify startups. The blurred distinction is the rationale he gave for the new name and broader mandate.
Dixon said the team would continue investing in crypto and related ventures and advocating for crypto regulation. He also suggested blockchains could give new networks economic capabilities, including transactions between machines. Those potential uses remain part of the firm's investment thinking under the Frontier name.
Who leads a16z Frontier and what it has backed
Dixon said he would lead a16z Frontier with Andreessen Horowitz founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, alongside general partners Eddy Lazzarin and Guy Wuollet. He said the firm's operating teams would continue supporting existing and future portfolio companies on regulation, recruitment, marketing, technical research and bringing products to market.
The move changes the brief of a sizeable venture investment operation. TechCrunch reported that the unit has raised nearly $10 billion across five funds since its launch in 2018 and has backed Coinbase. Fortune put the total at $9.8 billion, including a $2.2 billion fifth fund, and identified Uniswap and Anchorage Digital among its investments.
The broader remit follows a more narrowly stated commitment earlier this year. Fortune reported that an a16z Crypto spokesperson said in May that the fifth fund was ‘100% dedicated to investing in crypto entrepreneurs.’ The October announcement broadens the team's stated scope while retaining crypto investment within it.
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Sources and context
- As blockchain investing falls out of vogue, a16z Crypto rebrands as a16z FrontierTechCrunch
- a16z Frontiera16z Frontier (Andreessen Horowitz)
- Venture giant Andreessen Horowitz drops ‘crypto’ from name of blockchain fund, rebrands as ‘a16z Frontier’Fortune
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.