a16z Apps Fund

In “New Funds, New Era” on a16z’s website, Ben HorowitzBen HorowitzBen Horowitz is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and business author who co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with Marc Andreessen in 2009. He previously led Loudcloud’s transition into Opsware and its 2007 sale to Hewlett-Packard. His writing and investing address startup management, organizational culture and the relationship between technology and cultural industries.Open the full entry announced $7.2 billion in new capital, split into a $3.75 billion growth fund, a $1.25 billion infrastructure fund, a $1 billion apps fund, a $600 million games fund and a $600 million American Dynamism fund, each with a dedicated investing team.⁠[1]

The five funds and their sizes, including $1 billion for apps, were made public the same day.⁠[2]

The $1 billion Apps fund covers enterprise software, consumer technology and fintech and is led by general partner Alex RampellAlex RampellAlex Rampell (Alastair Rampell) is an entrepreneur and investor, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and leader of its Apps practice. He co-founded TrialPay and Affirm and serves on the boards of Wise and Rocket Companies.Open the full entry.⁠[3]

The capital was “divided between multiple funds this time, each helmed by a general partner,” and the Apps team, “helmed by Alex Rampell,” had “lost some GPs in the past few months,” including Kristina ShenKristina ShenKristina Shen is a venture capitalist focused on enterprise software who was a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and who co-founded the venture firm Chemistry in 2024, where she is a managing partner.Open the full entry, who had made several early-stage enterprise deals such as YC alum Tennr and had announced she was leaving to raise her own fund.⁠[4]

At the time, enterprise SaaS and fintech, “also part of the apps group,” were “in a slow patch.”⁠[4]

a16z general partner David HaberDavid HaberDavid Haber is an investor and entrepreneur and a New York-based general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). He previously invested at Spark Capital, co-founded small-business lender Bond Street and worked in Goldman Sachs strategy after its acquisition of the company.Open the full entry helps oversee the firm’s enterprise software investing and helped open a16z’s New York offices in 2022; Fortune described him as a “super-connector.” a16z also led legal-tech company Eve’s $47 million Series A.⁠[5]

His a16z biography says he focuses on B2B software and financial services and sits on the boards of Camber, Crux, Eve, Moment, Rutter, Setpoint and Tennr.⁠[6]

Cluely, the startup that promoted itself as helping users “cheat on everything,” raised a $15 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz; two investors not in the deal put its post-money valuation at around $120 million, and a16z declined to comment on valuation.⁠[7]

According to Packy McCormick's Not Boring essay, "a16z led a $15 million round out of its AI Apps Fund" in Cluely, and the essay places GP Anish AcharyaAnish AcharyaAnish Acharya is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), focused on consumer products and AI applications. He co-founded SocialDeck and Snowball, acquired by Google and Credit Karma respectively. He joined a16z in 2019 after working in software development, mobile product management and investing.Open the full entry "on a different team (AI Apps)." The author discloses he previously advised a16z crypto and that Marc AndreessenMarc AndreessenMarc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, a co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). While in college he helped develop the graphical web browser Mosaic, then co-founded Netscape and Loudcloud (later renamed Opsware), and has long served as a director of Meta; he has also published essays such as “Why Software Is Eating the World.”Open the full entry and Chris DixonChris DixonChris Dixon is a programmer, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist, and the founder and managing partner of a16z crypto. He co-founded SiteAdvisor and Hunch, helped create Founder Collective, and later joined Andreessen Horowitz, investing in technology companies such as Coinbase. He is also the author of Read Write Own and has long written about blockchains, network ownership, the open internet, and the combination of AI and crypto.Open the full entry are LPs in his fund.⁠[8]

On The a16z Show, Alex Rampell and David Haber discussed defensibility for AI application companies; the episode description says "19 out of 20 AI startups building the same thing will die," that unglamorous software can be the most defensible, and that "momentum isn't a moat, but without it, you're already dead."⁠[9]

In “Why Are We Here? Why Did We Raise $15B?” Ben Horowitz announced more than $15 billion in new a16z funds: $6.75 billion for growth, $1.7 billion for apps, $1.7 billion for infrastructure, $1.176 billion for American Dynamism, $700 million for bio and health, and $3 billion for other strategies.⁠[10]

The apps vehicle, also referred to as “Apps Fund 2,” was a second a16z apps fund of $1.7 billion.⁠[11][12]

Ben Horowitz wrote that a16z “raised over 18% of all venture capital dollars allocated in the United States in 2025.” The raise brought the firm to more than $90 billion in assets under management, with $1.7 billion each for apps and infrastructure.⁠[10][13]

Alex Rampell still shores up the Apps fund, a16z’s second apps fund. Cooley, which acted as a16z’s counsel on the raise, likewise listed the Apps fund at $1.7 billion.⁠[14][12][15]

The podcast 20VC interviewed Alex Rampell in an episode on a16z’s $15 billion raise, and its description identifies him as leading the $1.7 billion apps fund.⁠[16]

No other partners leading the apps fund are named in the available sources; a claim that David Haber co-leads it could not be verified from a citable source.⁠[10][11][12]

Andreessen Horowitz: Official website: https://a16z.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[1]

X: Andreessen Horowitz official account: https://x.com/a16z (opens in a new window)⁠[1]