Marc Andreessen

Andreessen graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a B.S. in computer science. While a student there, he worked on the development of the web browser Mosaic at the university’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).⁠[1][2]

Mosaic was not the earliest web browser, but it was easier to install and use than its predecessors and was the first published browser to automatically display pictures along with text; the programming skill of NCSA developer Eric Bina contributed greatly to this. Andreessen frequently gathered the features users wanted from the newsgroups discussing the World Wide Web, programmed them into the browser, and kept publishing new releases. By the time Mosaic landed on the cover of the New York Times business section in December 1993, it was being downloaded more than 5,000 times a month.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2]

In April 1994, Andreessen co-founded the software company Netscape Communications, where he held positions including Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Products, and served as a director until March 1999.⁠[1][1]

In March 1999, America Online (AOL) completed its acquisition of Netscape in a $4.2 billion deal. Andreessen then served as AOL’s Chief Technology Officer from March to September 1999.⁠[3][4][1]

In September 1999, Andreessen co-founded Loudcloud with Ben Horowitz, a former Netscape vice president, and others, with Andreessen as Chairman and Horowitz as President and Chief Executive Officer. The company provided managed internet services to businesses; CAA co-founder Michael OvitzMichael OvitzMichael Ovitz is an American Hollywood agent and businessman, a co-founder of the talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which he chaired from 1975 to 1995, and was once regarded as one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood. He briefly served as President of The Walt Disney Company from 1995 to 1996, and his severance gave rise to shareholder litigation lasting nearly a decade; he later headed Artists Management Group and turned to technology investing and advisory work.Open the full entry served as a director from July 2000.⁠[1][1][1][5][1]

On June 14, 2002, Loudcloud entered into an asset purchase agreement with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) to sell its managed services business for $63.5 million in cash, and asked shareholders to approve changing the company’s name to Opsware.⁠[5][5][5]

On July 20, 2007, Opsware entered into a merger agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP), under which HP made a cash tender offer of $14.25 per share, valuing the deal at about $1.6 billion. The offer expired on September 14, with about 92.7% of shares tendered, and the merger was completed on September 21, ending Andreessen’s tenure as Chairman.⁠[6][7][4][6][6][6][3]

In June 2008, Andreessen joined the board of directors of Facebook, Inc. (later renamed Meta Platforms). From 2008 he also served as a director of HP, until 2018.⁠[3][4]

In July 2009, Andreessen co-founded the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz with Ben Horowitz, and has served as a general partner ever since.⁠[3]

On August 20, 2011, Andreessen published “Why Software Is Eating the World” in The Wall Street Journal, declaring that “software is eating the world.” He argued that six decades into the computer revolution, four decades since the invention of the microprocessor, and two decades into the rise of the modern internet, the technology needed to transform industries through software finally worked and could be widely delivered at global scale.⁠[8][8][8]

From May 2015, Andreessen has served as a director of the connected operations company Samsara.⁠[3]

On April 18, 2020, Andreessen published “It’s Time to Build,” which opened with Western institutions’ lack of preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized the United States for building too little in areas such as housing and cities, arguing that the problem lay in desire, inertia, and regulatory capture, and calling for a renewed commitment to building.⁠[9][9][9][9]

In December 2020, Andreessen joined the board of directors of the crypto asset trading platform Coinbase.⁠[3]

On June 6, 2023, Andreessen published the long essay “Why AI Will Save the World,” arguing that artificial intelligence will not destroy the world and may in fact save it; he argued that the single greatest risk of AI is that China wins global AI dominance and the United States and the West do not.⁠[10][10]

On October 16, 2023, Andreessen published “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” saying people are being lied to about technology, for example told that technology takes their jobs, reduces their wages, and increases inequality; the manifesto holds that there is no material problem that cannot be solved with more technology, and declares support for accelerationism, the conscious and deliberate propulsion of technological development.⁠[11][11][11][11]

On July 5, 2024, Andreessen and Ben Horowitz jointly published “The Little Tech Agenda,” which calls startups “Little Tech” in contrast to Big Tech incumbents, argues that bad government policies have become their number one threat, and states that, regardless of party, they will support politicians who support Little Tech and oppose those who oppose it.⁠[12][12][12][12][12][12]

On March 15, 2026, David Senra’s eponymous podcast released an episode of his conversation with Andreessen.⁠[13][13][13]

As of April 2026, Andreessen was a director of three public companies, Meta, Coinbase, and Samsara, and served on the Risk and Strategy Committee of Meta’s board; he also sat on the boards of a number of a16z portfolio companies, including Applied Intuition and Carta.⁠[14][14][4]

Andreessen Horowitz: Official website: https://a16z.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

X: Public account: https://x.com/pmarca (opens in a new window)⁠[8]

Substack: Public account: https://pmarca.substack.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]