Andreessen Horowitz Pursues $10 Billion in New Investments, Leaving Crypto Behind
Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz aims to raise $10 billion focused on AI and defense, deliberately excluding crypto from its plans, despite a bullish view on decentralization.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is reportedly raising around $10 billion aimed at investments in the artificial intelligence and defense sectors, but curiously, there is a notable exclusion of crypto—one of its historical focal points.
According to a Financial Times report, which references unnamed sources, a16z’s fundraising strategy includes $6 billion for mature companies, $1.5 billion for various AI applications and infrastructure, and over $1 billion for a dedicated defense and manufacturing fund. The absence of a crypto fund is striking for one of Silicon Valley’s significant supporters of the digital currency space.
A16z has played a pivotal role in developing the modern crypto landscape through its dedicated crypto arm, which has invested in major players like Coinbase, Uniswap, and Dapper Labs. Furthermore, it actively lobbies for favorable US regulation on crypto matters.
Interestingly, the crypto market seems to be on a growth trajectory, as indicated by the firm’s State of Crypto report released recently, which emphasized that the sector is expanding globally, with stablecoins gaining traction and financial institutions increasingly adopting digital assets.
Growth of the crypto ecosystem. Source: A16z
Despite its reported reluctance to allocate funds for crypto in this latest initiative, a16z hasn’t abandoned the sector altogether. Earlier this month, the company’s crypto investment arm invested $50 million in Jito, a liquid staking protocol for the Solana network. Furthermore, it revealed a $55 million investment in LayerZero, a firm specializing in crosschain communication.
Although absent from this funding round, Andreessen Horowitz remains positive about the US crypto environment, leading to its choice to close UK offices and concentrate efforts within the United States.
In the evolving landscape of venture capital within the crypto domain, discussions persist on its implications, with Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, underscoring the importance of such funding for the ecosystem’s advancement. While acknowledging that venture capitalists often seek to maximize their profit from the ecosystem, he suggested they can also foster rigorous decentralization efforts.
As the dynamics of venture capital in crypto continue to shift, the full impact on the ecosystem remains to be seen.
