The a16z Show

Latest Episodes:

Fixing Higher Education & New Startup Opportunities with Marc and Ben Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

"The Ben & Marc Show" features a16z's co-founders Ben Horowitz & Marc Andreessen. In this episode, Marc and Ben continue their in-depth exploration of the current education system. While Part I of their discussion unpacked the crisis facing higher education, Part II presents solutions to overhaul the modern university.
In this one-on-one conversation, Ben and Marc delve into actions that existing institutions can take to improve their current and future situations. This includes exploring new methods for talent recruitment, providing a more individualized education experience for students, and reducing administrative bloat. They also apply an entrepreneurial lens to each university function, revealing startup opportunities poised to emerge – including the building of brand new institutions, nonprofits, and research entities. Enjoy!
Resources:
*Watch Part I: https://youtu.be/7J2_G4oHRQ0
*Watch Part II: https://youtu.be/EeIdalo2huI

Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/
Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz
“South Park” episode mentioned in this discussion: – Eps 1505 (stream on Max): https://bit.ly/3HrZQg0
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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Read Write Own: A New Era Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

with @cdixon @rhhackett

Welcome to the web3 with a16z crypto podcast. I'm Robert Hackett, an editor here at a16z crypto, and I'm here with Chris Dixon, founding partner of a16z crypto and author of the new book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet. I had the privilege of editing Chris throughout the book writing process, and I'm thrilled now to talk to you about what went on behind the scenes, the big themes of the book, the challenges, and also about the crypto industry at large as well as what we can expect from it in the future.

Learn more at https://readwriteown.com/.

Resources for references in this episode:

Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
"'It's a canon event' TikTok trend, explained"
Chris Dixon's blog at cdixon.org
- "Come for the tool, stay for the network"
- "The next big thing starts out looking like a toy"
- "Can't be evil"
The Cold Start Problem by Andrew Chen
- On Andrew Chen's writing habits
On investing in Coinbase in 2013
Guidance from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in 2019: "Framework for 'Investment Contract' Analysis of Digital Assets"
On blockchains as "a programmable computer that lives in the sky" via a16z crypto head of research Tim Roughgarden
Gödel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstader
"How Aristotle Created the Computer" by Chris Dixon for The Atlantic
"A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits" by Claude Shannon
Principia Mathematica by Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead
An Investigation of the Laws of Thought by George Boole
The End of Education by Neil Postman
"Inside out vs. outside in: The adoption of new technologies" by Chris Dixon
"The Inevitable Showdown Between Twitter and Twitter Apps" by Chris Dixon
"Elon Musk says X is discouraging links in posts" by Sara Fischer
"Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again" by Vitalik Buterin
"What Will Happen in 2024" by Fred Wilson
"A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity" by McCullough and Pitts
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore
On "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis" and Hegel's Dialectics

As a reminder, none of the following should be taken as business, legal, tax, or investment advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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The What, Who, and When with IPOs Jan 29, 2024

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In 2022 and 2023, US IPOs hit decade lows after the record high of 2021. Now, in 2024, will the IPO window reopen?

In this episode, we revisit a conversation with Jeff Jordan, former CEO of OpenTable, and J.D. Moriarty, the former Head Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Joined by Sonal Choksi, the pair takes you behind the scenes to unravel the complexities surrounding IPOs, including pricing, allocations, and the elusive "pop." They also discuss OpenTable’s IPO, which occurred immediately following the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and weigh in on the question: Can you time an IPO in an unpredictable year?

Resources:

Find Jeff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeff_jordan

Find J.D on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdmoriarty

Find Sonal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smc90

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Jobs of the Future Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

(00:00) - The Future of Jobs

(03:15) - Job growth over the last 80 years

(05:06) - The shelf-life of jobs

(09:11) - Education trends

(12:25) - The importance of learning the foundations

(17:18) - Regional access to education

(20:19) - How companies are hiring and looking at strategic priorities

(22:58) - The economic mobility and economic stability of degrees

(25:59) - Job and training trends at Grow with Google

(28:11) - Do companies train or hire for skills?

(29:23) - The future of the traditional degree

(31:10) - The employer and educator ecosystem

(35:36) - How to approach upskilling

In a world where technology is moving at an unprecedented pace, what will the jobs of the future look like?

Kai Roemmelt, CEO of the online learning platform Udacity, and Lisa Gevelber, a key figure at Google responsible for building the Grow with Google program, unpack the seismic changes reshaping the tech and education realms.

From disrupting hiring norms to redefining how we acquire degrees and engage globally, this episode poses the question: How can you skillfully navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities awaiting in this evolving landscape?

Resources:

Find Kai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-roemmelt

Find Lisa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagevelber

Learn more about Udacity: https://www.udacity.com

Learn more about Grow with Google: https://grow.google

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Introducing Raising Health: Fireside Chat with Sean Duffy Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

Big news from a16z: Bio Eats World, our sibling show from a16z Bio+Health, is now Raising Health!

We’re excited to share Raising Health’s first episode here where Sean Duffy, cofounder and CEO of Omada Health, joins Vijay Pande, founding general partner of Bio + Health.

Sean and Vijay discuss the building and growth of Omada, from the early days to now. As the cofounder of one of the original digital health companies, Sean has unique insight into the growth of both the digital health field and the changing venture capital environment. They also talk about the future of AI, how Omada is leveraging AI, and the challenges that might arise with using a technology in a caregiving environment.

You can listen to more episodes of Raising Health here: https://link.chtbl.com/IqBoJ2By?sid=a16z11824

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Crisis in Higher Ed & Why Universities Still Matter with Marc & Ben Jan 14, 2024

Show notes

In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben tackle the university system – what has certainly been a hot topic that’s been dominating the news over the past few months. As Marc states at the top of the episode, universities matter tremendously to our world, but they’re currently in a state of crisis.

Together, Ben and Marc take a “structural” look at higher education, delving deep into the twelve functions of the modern university. They also unpack the numerous challenges that universities face today – student debt and the replication crisis, among them.

They also discuss topics including DEI, student athlete admissions, accreditation, inflation, and much more.

As colleges face an existential threat that could have long lasting repercussions, how can we find ways to improve these institutions, while being open to new entrepreneurial opportunities in education?

Check out the Ben and Marc show: https://link.chtbl.com/benandmarc

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Drones, Data, and Deterrence: Technology's Role in Public Safety Jan 10, 2024

Show notes

Flock is a public safety technology platform that operates in over 4,000 cities across the United States, and solves about 2,200 crimes daily. That’s 10 percent of reported crimes nationwide.

Taken from a16z’s recent LP Summit, a16z General Partner David Ulevitch joins forces with Flock Safety’s founder, Garrett Langley and Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Together, they cover the delicate balance between using technology to combat crime and respecting individual privacy, and explore the use of drones and facial recognition, building trust within communities, and the essence of objective policing.

Resources:

Find Garret on Twitter: https://twitter.com/glangley

Find Sheriff McMahill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sheriff_LVMPD

Find David on Twitter:https://twitter.com/davidu

Learn more about Flock Safety: https://www.flocksafety.com

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DNA's Potential to Store the World's Data Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

Nature’s blueprint – DNA – is an incredibly efficient machine. You cannot see it with the naked eye, yet it can last for hundreds, maybe even millions of years. Plus, the storage capacity of a single gram of DNA is over 200 million gigabytes! As the cost of DNA sequencing (reading) and synthesis (writing) comes down, scientists are looking to our very own biology for applications reaching as far as data storage. Learn more about this fascinating world with a16z General Partner Vijay Pande, as he says, this next wave of biological computing will “be the mother of many new exponentials to come.”

Resources:

Save As: DNA Part 1: https://exo.substack.com/p/saving-our-story-in-dna-part-1

Save As: DNA Part 1: https://exo.substack.com/p/save-as-dna-part-2

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A Year of Unlocks: 2023 In AI, Healthcare, Housing, and More Dec 31, 2023

Show notes

As we close off 2023, we wanted to revisit some of our favorite episodes from the last year. From AI hardware, to healthcare regulation, to disrupting the world’s largest asset class, to the electrification of nearly everything… there’s something in here for all listeners.

Resources:

AI Hardware, Explained:

https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-hardware-explained

Chasing Silicon: The Race for GPUs: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/chasing-silicon-the-race-for-gpus

The True Cost of Compute: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-cost-of-compute

AI Revolution: Disruption, Alignment, and Opportunity: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-revolution-disruption-alignment-and-opportunity

The Robot Lawyer Resistance; https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-robot-lawyer-resistance

The Quest for AGI: Q*, Self-Play, and Synthetic Data: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-quest-for-agi-q-self-play-and-synthetic-data

The Road to Autonomous Vehicles: Are We There Yet?: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-road-to-autonomous-vehicles-are-we-there-yet-PstZz2G_

The Electrification of Everything: From Sky to Sea: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-electrification-of-everything-from-sky-to-sea

When Two Giants Intersect: Healthcare Meets Fintech: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/when-two-giants-intersect-healthcare-meets-fintech

Salary Transparency: Clarity or Chaos?: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/salary-transparency-clarity-or-chaos

Disrupting the World’s Largest Asset Class with Adam Neumann: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/disrupting-the-worlds-largest-asset-class

The Data Highway Above with Privateer’s Steve Wozniak, Alex Fielding, and Dr. Moriba Jah: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/new-the-data-highway-above-with-privateers-steve-wozniak-alex-fielding-and-dr-moriba-jah

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The Future of Longevity with Tony Robbins Dec 26, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to “The Ben & Marc Show”, featuring a16z’s co-founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. In this week’s episode, Marc and Ben are joined by special guest Tony Robbins to discuss the future of longevity.

Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, #1 NY Times bestselling author, philanthropist, and the nation’s #1 life & business strategist. For over four and a half decades, Tony has empowered more than 50 million people from 100 countries around the world through his audio programs, educational videos, and live seminars. He’s also the author of six international bestsellers, including “Money: Master the Game” (2014), “Unshakable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook” (2017) and “Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life and Those You Love” (2022).

Joined by a16z’s own Dr. Vijay Pande, PhD – General Partner since 2014, and founder and leader of a16z Bio + Health – the group discusses new breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, AI, biohacking, gene editing, mindset and confirms why this might be the best time to be alive. Enjoy!

Watch the full video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/V8h11baC_ok

Resources:

Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca

Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/

Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz

Dr. Vijay Pande on X: https://twitter.com/vijaypande

Learn more about Tony Robbins: https://tonyrobbins.com

Tony’s Time to Rise Summit (Jan 25-27, 2024): https://timetorisesummit.com/join-now

Pre-order Tony’s upcoming book “The Holy Grail of Investing” (Feb 2024): http://theholygrailofinvesting.com

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