Ben Horowitz

Ben Horowitz
Born	Benjamin Abraham Horowitz 13 06, 1966
Birthplace	London, England
Nationality	American
Occupation	Venture capitalist, author, entrepreneur
Known for	Co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), co-founder and former CEO of Opsware
Education	Columbia University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (MS)
Children	3
Awards	Forbes Midas List (#33, 2025)
Website	[bhorowitz.com Official site]

Benjamin Abraham Horowitz (born June 13, 1966) is an American businessman, investor, author, and blogger. He is best known as the co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz (commonly known as a16z), one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capital firms, which he established alongside Marc Andreessen in 2009. Before entering the venture capital industry, Horowitz co-founded and served as president and chief executive officer of the enterprise software company Opsware, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2007 for approximately $1.6 billion. Born in London and raised in the United States, Horowitz has become a significant figure in Silicon Valley's technology and investment ecosystem. He is also a published author, having written The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers (2014), a candid account of the challenges of building and running a technology startup, and What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture. As of 2025, Horowitz ranks number 33 on the Forbes Midas List of top technology investors.

Early Life

Benjamin Abraham Horowitz was born on June 13, 1966, in London, England. His father is David Horowitz, an American journalist and author known for his political commentary. Although born in England, Horowitz grew up in the United States and holds American nationality.

Horowitz was raised in an intellectually stimulating household. His upbringing and his father's background in political writing and commentary exposed him to a wide range of ideas and perspectives from an early age. The family eventually settled in the United States, where Horowitz would go on to pursue his education and career in technology and business.

Details about Horowitz's childhood and formative years in the public record are relatively limited, though he has shared anecdotes from his upbringing in various public talks and in his published writings. In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Horowitz drew on personal experiences from his youth to illustrate broader lessons about resilience, leadership, and decision-making under pressure. His early life experiences, including navigating culturally diverse environments and observing his father's career, would later inform his approach to both entrepreneurship and venture capital investing.

Education

Horowitz attended Columbia University in New York City, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating with the class of 1988. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a Master of Science degree in computer science.

His education combined a liberal arts foundation from Columbia with technical expertise from UCLA's computer science program, a combination that would prove valuable in his later career as a technology entrepreneur and investor. Horowitz has maintained ties with Columbia University, returning to speak at events hosted by the institution. In September 2025, he appeared at Columbia Business School to discuss topics including artificial intelligence, corporate culture, and innovation.

Career

Early Career and Netscape

After completing his graduate studies, Horowitz entered the technology industry during the early 1990s, a period of rapid growth in the personal computing and internet sectors. He began his career working at several technology companies in Silicon Valley, gaining experience in product management and engineering roles.

Horowitz's career trajectory took a significant turn when he joined Netscape Communications, the pioneering web browser company. It was at Netscape that he first worked with Marc Andreessen, the company's co-founder. Andreessen had gained fame as the co-creator of Mosaic, one of the first widely used graphical web browsers, and had co-founded Netscape to commercialize internet browsing technology. The professional relationship between Horowitz and Andreessen that began at Netscape would become one of the most consequential partnerships in Silicon Valley's venture capital history.

At Netscape, Horowitz gained firsthand experience in the dynamics of the rapidly evolving internet industry, including the intense competitive pressures of the browser wars with Microsoft. Following AOL's acquisition of Netscape in 1999, Horowitz and several colleagues moved on to pursue new ventures.

Loudcloud and Opsware

In 1999, Horowitz co-founded Loudcloud, a cloud computing and managed services company, along with Marc Andreessen, Tim Howes, and In Sik Rhee. The company aimed to provide internet infrastructure services to businesses during a period when demand for web hosting and managed services was growing rapidly. Loudcloud went public in 2001, though the company faced significant headwinds as the dot-com bubble burst and many of its clients went out of business or dramatically reduced their technology spending.

In a pivotal strategic decision, Loudcloud sold its managed hosting business to Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 2002. The company then transformed itself into an enterprise software firm focused on data center automation, rebranding as Opsware. This transformation—from a services company losing money amid the dot-com crash to an enterprise software company—was one of the most challenging periods in Horowitz's career, and he has spoken and written extensively about the experience.

As CEO of Opsware, Horowitz navigated the company through years of uncertainty, including periods when the company's stock price fell below $1 per share, nearly triggering delisting from the NASDAQ exchange. The company gradually built its enterprise software business, developing products for automating data center operations, server provisioning, and network management.

By 2007, Opsware had become a significant player in the data center automation software market. In July 2007, Hewlett-Packard announced its acquisition of Opsware for approximately $1.6 billion in cash, or $14.25 per share. The acquisition represented a remarkable turnaround for a company that had nearly collapsed during the dot-com bust. Horowitz's experience leading Opsware through its near-death experience and eventual successful exit became a central narrative in his later writings and investment philosophy.

Founding of Andreessen Horowitz

In July 2009, Horowitz and Marc Andreessen co-founded the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, based in Menlo Park, California. The firm, commonly referred to by its domain name "a16z" (the letter "a," followed by 16 characters, followed by "z"), was established with the ambition to reimagine the venture capital model. Unlike traditional VC firms that primarily offered capital and board-level guidance, Andreessen Horowitz was designed to provide portfolio companies with a broad range of operational support, including assistance with recruiting, marketing, business development, and executive coaching.

The firm's founding thesis was informed significantly by Horowitz's own experiences as a CEO. Having navigated the challenges of building and scaling technology companies firsthand, Horowitz believed that entrepreneurs needed more than just financial backing—they needed practical operational support and a VC partner who understood the day-to-day realities of running a company. This operator-centric approach to venture capital became a distinguishing characteristic of the firm.

Andreessen Horowitz raised its first fund relatively quickly and grew at an exceptional pace. By January 2012, the firm had raised its third fund, bringing its total assets under management to approximately $1.5 billion in just three years.

Over the following years, the firm made notable investments across the technology landscape, backing companies in sectors including enterprise software, consumer internet, financial technology, cryptocurrency, and biotechnology. The firm invested in a number of companies that went on to achieve significant scale and market valuations.

Growth and Expansion of a16z

Under Horowitz's co-leadership, Andreessen Horowitz expanded far beyond its initial venture capital focus. The firm developed dedicated investment practices in multiple sectors, including crypto and Web3 technologies, biotechnology and health, financial technology, and enterprise infrastructure. This multi-sector approach distinguished the firm from many traditional venture capital partnerships that focused on a narrower range of technology investments.

In a notable move, Andreessen Horowitz registered as a financial adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019, which allowed the firm greater flexibility to make investments in asset classes beyond traditional startup equity, including public market securities, secondary shares, and cryptocurrencies.

By 2025, the firm had grown substantially from its founding. In early 2026, Andreessen Horowitz announced that it had raised over $15 billion in new venture capital funds across multiple strategies, including investments in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, biotechnology, health, infrastructure, and growth-stage companies. This fundraise underscored the firm's position as one of the largest and most active venture capital firms in the world.

Horowitz has spoken about his philosophy regarding team size and structure within the firm. In early 2026, he stated that investing teams should not be "too much bigger than basketball teams," reflecting his belief in the importance of small, cohesive investment groups.

In October 2025, the firm announced the hiring of Raghu Raghuram, the former CEO of VMware, as Managing Partner and General Partner, a move that Horowitz characterized as hiring his "Jensen"—a reference to Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia—to help manage the firm's growing operations.

Views on Artificial Intelligence

Horowitz has been a prominent voice in the venture capital industry on the subject of artificial intelligence (AI). As a16z has invested in a number of AI companies, including Safe Superintelligence Inc., Horowitz has shared his perspectives on AI's trajectory and its implications for the economy and society.

In a September 2025 appearance at Columbia Business School, Horowitz stated that AI is "still in its infancy" and discussed how corporate culture drives resilience during periods of technological disruption.

In early 2026, Horowitz publicly pushed back against predictions that AI would cause mass unemployment. In an interview reported by Business Insider, he argued that fears of an "AI-fueled job apocalypse" were based on a "flawed assumption," suggesting that the relationship between AI and employment was more nuanced than many commentators had portrayed.

Regarding AI company valuations, which had drawn scrutiny from market observers, Horowitz acknowledged in early 2026 that valuations appeared high but contended that the underlying demand for AI technologies was unprecedented. He described the AI market as "a bit of a brave new world" and stated that the industry had "never seen demand like this."

Writing and Public Commentary

Beyond his investing work, Horowitz has established a significant presence as a writer and public commentator on technology, management, and entrepreneurship. His blog, hosted at bhorowitz.com, gained a substantial readership for its candid, often contrarian takes on leadership, company-building, and Silicon Valley culture.

In March 2014, Horowitz published his first book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers. The book drew heavily on Horowitz's experiences as CEO of Loudcloud and Opsware, offering practical advice on topics such as managing through crises, making layoff decisions, handling executive departures, and maintaining leadership composure during periods of extreme stress. The book was notable for its frank tone and its willingness to address topics that many business authors avoided, such as the emotional toll of leading a company through near-failure.

The book received substantial attention in the business and technology communities. A Bloomberg Businessweek review noted that women were "markedly absent" from the book's narrative, a criticism that generated discussion about representation in Silicon Valley literature.

Horowitz subsequently published a second book, What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture, which examined the role of organizational culture in business success. The book drew on historical examples—including figures from diverse cultural and historical contexts—to illustrate principles of culture-building in organizations.

Horowitz's blog posts and public remarks are frequently characterized by references to hip hop music and culture. He has incorporated hip hop lyrics and themes into his business writing and speaking, using them as analogies for entrepreneurial challenges and leadership principles.

Personal Life

Ben Horowitz has three children. His father is David Horowitz, the American author and political commentator.

Horowitz resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been publicly noted for his interest in hip hop music, which he frequently references in his professional writing and public appearances. His blog posts often open with hip hop lyrics, and he has discussed the cultural and philosophical parallels he sees between hip hop and entrepreneurship.

Horowitz has been involved in philanthropic activities in the Silicon Valley community. He and his wife have participated in charitable giving focused on education and community development in the Bay Area.

In 2014, Fortune magazine profiled Horowitz as part of a feature on influential figures in Silicon Valley, describing his role in the technology and investment ecosystem.

Recognition

Horowitz has received recognition from multiple outlets for his contributions to the technology and venture capital industries. As of 2025, he is ranked number 33 on the Forbes Midas List, the publication's annual ranking of the top technology investors in the world. The Forbes Midas List is considered one of the most prominent rankings of venture capital investors globally, and inclusion on the list reflects a track record of successful investments in technology companies.

His first book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things, became a bestseller and is frequently cited as recommended reading for entrepreneurs and business leaders. The book's influence extended beyond Silicon Valley, finding an audience among executives and managers across industries who identified with its themes of leadership during adversity.

Horowitz's blog has also been recognized as one of the most influential voices in the technology entrepreneurship space. His posts on management topics—including pieces on hiring, firing, training, and the psychological challenges of leadership—have been widely shared and discussed within the technology community.

Through Andreessen Horowitz, Horowitz has helped shape the modern venture capital industry's approach to supporting portfolio companies. The firm's model of providing extensive operational support alongside capital has been adopted or emulated by numerous other venture capital firms, contributing to a broader shift in how VC firms interact with their portfolio companies.

Legacy

Ben Horowitz's career spans two distinct but interconnected phases—technology entrepreneurship and venture capital—and his impact on Silicon Valley has been felt in both domains. His experience building and leading Opsware through the dot-com crash and its subsequent acquisition by Hewlett-Packard provided a foundation of operational credibility that distinguished him from many venture capitalists who had not served as CEOs of publicly traded technology companies.

The founding of Andreessen Horowitz in 2009 represented a significant evolution in the venture capital industry. The firm's operator-centric model, which emphasized providing portfolio companies with comprehensive operational support beyond financial investment, influenced how subsequent venture capital firms structured their offerings to entrepreneurs. The firm's growth from its initial fund to managing over $15 billion in capital across multiple investment strategies reflects its expansion into one of the largest venture capital platforms in the world.

As an author and public commentator, Horowitz has contributed to the discourse on entrepreneurial leadership and organizational culture. The Hard Thing About Hard Things in particular has become a frequently referenced text in business and entrepreneurship education, offering a perspective on the difficulties of company-building that contrasted with more optimistic accounts of startup life that dominated business literature at the time of its publication.

Horowitz's ongoing commentary on emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, continues to shape investor and public discourse on the trajectory of the technology industry. His stated belief that AI remains in its early stages and that fears of widespread job displacement are overstated positions him as a prominent advocate for continued technology investment and development.

His career arc—from engineer to CEO to venture capitalist to author—has established him as a multifaceted figure in American business and technology, with influence extending across entrepreneurship, investment, and the broader cultural conversation about technology's role in society.