Eddy Lazzarin

Eddy Lazzarin is a general partner at a16z Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry Frontier, the Andreessen Horowitz fund formerly known as a16z crypto. He started there as a data scientist, went on to lead its engineering team and serve as chief technology officer, and later became a general partner.

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Key facts

Early Years: Education and First Jobs

Lazzarin holds a B.A. in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology and an M.S. in Computer Science, with a concentration in statistical computing, from Washington University in St. Louis, where he researched behavioral economics and game theory with Leonard Green.⁠[1]

Before a16z crypto, he worked as a software engineer at Netflix NetflixNetflix is a U.S. entertainment company that offers streaming series, films, games, and live programming, headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997, it grew from online DVD rental into an international subscription entertainment service and also runs original content, advertising, and in-person experience businesses.Open the full entry on data ingestion systems and as a data engineer at Facebook on growth analytics and modeling for Messenger.⁠[1]

2019–2021Joining a16z crypto and Leading Engineering

In 2019, a year after a16z crypto launched its first crypto fund, Lazzarin joined the firm as a data scientist and investing partner. In 2021 he became Head of Engineering.⁠[2]

February 2023Chief Technology Officer

On February 8, 2023, a16z crypto announced Lazzarin’s promotion to chief technology officer. He continued to lead the engineering and data science teams he had built and took on management of the research and security teams.⁠[2][3]

In the announcement, a16z crypto founder and managing partner Chris Dixon Chris 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 wrote: “He quickly distinguished himself as a true crypto polymath.” Dixon listed open-source work the team had released, including Helios, a light client for Ethereum; privacy-protecting airdrops using zero-knowledge proofs; a starter pack for NFT analysis; and Halmos, a formal verification tool.⁠[2]

May 2026General Partner

On May 5, 2026, a16z crypto announced a $2.2 billion fifth fund and promoted Lazzarin to be its fourth general partner, alongside Chris Dixon, Ali Yahya and Guy Wuollet. The firm’s five funds had raised $9.8 billion in total; a spokesperson said the fifth fund was “100% dedicated to investing in crypto entrepreneurs.”⁠[4][5]

September 2026Arguing Against an AI Pause

In September 2026 Lazzarin discussed growing calls to slow AI development with research partner Theo Jaffee on an a16z podcast. He argued that the debate places too much emphasis on speculative superintelligence and underweights the costs of delaying useful technology, and favored familiar tools such as cybersecurity, accountability, liability, market incentives and stronger technical controls over treating every AI failure as an alignment problem.⁠[6]

October 2026a16z crypto Becomes a16z Frontier

On October 22, 2026, Andreessen Horowitz announced that a16z crypto would be renamed a16z Frontier, widening the scope of the $2.2 billion fund announced that May to artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies while continuing to back crypto startups. Managing partner Chris Dixon leads the fund alongside Marc Andreessen Marc 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, Ben Horowitz Ben 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 and general partners Lazzarin and Guy Wuollet.⁠[7]

At a16z Frontier, Lazzarin focuses on portfolio and token strategy and on how the firm identifies, evaluates and supports new networks and companies; he also oversees the engineering, research and security teams that support investing and work with portfolio companies.⁠[1][8]

Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts

a16z Frontier: Official website: https://a16zfrontier.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

X: Public account: https://x.com/eddylazzarin (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

LinkedIn LinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddy-lazzarin-66059749/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

Farcaster: Public account: https://farcaster.xyz/eddy (opens in a new window).⁠[1]