Marc Andreessen
Also known as a16z, AI commentary
Marc Andreessen is an entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. His career began with work on the Mosaic web browser and the co-founding of Netscape. He later co-founded Loudcloud, which became Opsware, and entered venture investing. In 2009, he and Ben Horowitz founded their investment firm. Andreessen became a prominent public voice through essays and conversations about software, markets and technical progress. His 2023 essay AI Will Save the World argues for broad AI development and use. The Techno-Optimist Manifesto sets out a wider belief in technology and growth. These texts are statements of his position in AI debate. His firm’s investments also connect that position with companies building AI products.
- Now at
- Andreessen Horowitz
Timeline
-
Browser years
Working on Mosaic
Andreessen co-created the Mosaic browser. The project helped make the web easier to use through a graphical interface. It became an early part of his public career and connected technical development with the experience of people finding information and services online.
-
Netscape years
Turning browser work into a company
Andreessen co-founded Netscape after his work on Mosaic. The company brought browser software into a commercial setting. His career now joined engineering with company building, a combination he later carried into enterprise software and investing in other founders’ businesses.
-
2009
Founding Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen and Ben Horowitz founded Andreessen Horowitz in 2009. The firm invested in technology companies and developed public writing and discussions about markets and software. Andreessen’s role combined support for founders with a growing public argument about the effects of technical progress.
-
October 2023
Publishing a wider manifesto
The Techno-Optimist Manifesto set out Andreessen’s wider belief in technology, markets and growth. AI appeared within that argument about building more capable systems. The text made the values behind his AI position explicit and became part of his continuing public role as an investor and writer.
-
2026
Continuing investing and public discussion
Andreessen remains a co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz. His essays and conversations cover AI, technology and company building. This continuing work connects his earlier software career with the choices of firms and founders developing new AI products.
Sources and credits
Photo: JD Lasica, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.
.jpg){kind=link}