Gagan Biyani

Biyani was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and later lived in Oakland. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008, where he studied economics.⁠[1][2]

Early in his entry into startups, he also wrote mobile technology coverage for TechCrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is an American technology news outlet founded in 2005 by Michael Arrington and Keith Teare and headquartered in San Francisco; it mainly covers technology companies, startups, and venture capital, and hosts events such as TechCrunch Disrupt. Its ownership passed successively through AOL, Verizon, and Yahoo, and in 2025 Regent announced its acquisition.Open the full entry. This experience, together with his later work in growth and on education platforms, makes up his professional background.⁠[3]

In 2010, he co-founded Udemy with Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar, building a platform where experts publish courses and students learn online. The company’s 2011 Series A financing announcement listed him as president and co-founder.⁠[4][5]

In 2012, he left Udemy. In a later Mixergy interview, Biyani said that he and Bali disagreed over how the company was run and led, and that he was ultimately removed from his role; the two later gradually restored a friendly relationship.⁠[6]

After leaving Udemy, he worked at Lyft for about six months. In 2013, he left Lyft and co-founded the food delivery company Sprig, which explored a service model of preparing its own meals and delivering them.⁠[6][3]

In May 2017, Sprig ceased operations.⁠[7]

Biyani later recalled that the company still had about $8 million in cash at the time, but he had come to question his passion for the industry, the path to success, and whether he was suited to keep leading the business, and he ultimately chose to wind it down. He regards this exit as an important decision in finding a new career direction.⁠[8]

After a period of travel and rest, Biyani co-founded Maven in 2020. The founding team also included Wes Kao and Shreyans Bhansali, and the platform is centered on courses led by experts in which learners take part together as a cohort.⁠[3][9]

In January 2021, Maven launched its course business. In May of that year, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen 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 announced that it had led Maven’s Series A financing, and Andrew Chen joined the board. The platform provides instructors with tools for creating and running courses and uses group learning to increase engagement.⁠[9]

In a later public retrospective, Biyani said that in its early days Maven relied too heavily on its team manually supporting instructors and had not yet built a stable product; the team then shifted its focus from instructors’ follower counts to genuine expertise and kept improving instructor retention. These are his own account of the company’s path to product–market fit.⁠[10]

In March 2026, in a GC AI interview, he argued that access to information has improved dramatically but that sustained learning is still limited by motivation and attention; fixed course schedules, interaction with classmates, and real commitment help learners keep going. He also advocated helping existing employees learn AI tools.⁠[3]

On September 22, 2026, the Horowitz Andreessen Academy was officially announced, with Biyani as CEO and a board member, and 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 Erik TorenbergErik TorenbergErik Torenberg is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and podcast host who is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he invests and is responsible for marketing and the ecosystem network. He was the first employee of Product Hunt and founded or co-founded On Deck, Village Global, and Turpentine, long combining founder communities, expert content, and early-stage investing.Open the full entry joining the board. a16z announced that the program had raised $42 million in funding.⁠[11][12]

The new program is based in San Francisco, is aimed at young people who have graduated from high school, and emphasizes personal projects, coursework, and work experience. The academy plans for its first program to begin in fall 2027; Biyani said the first program will last one year and be tuition-free, while a planned future two-year paid program remains subject to regulatory approval.⁠[13][14]

Horowitz Andreessen Academy: The education program where he serves as CEO and a board member. Official website: https://www.theacademysf.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[12]

Maven: The online learning platform he co-founded. Official website: https://maven.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[9]

Udemy: The online education platform he co-founded. Official website: https://www.udemy.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

University of California, Berkeley: His alma mater. Official website: https://www.berkeley.edu/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]

Personal website: https://www.gaganbiyani.com/ (opens in a new window). X: Public account: https://x.com/gaganbiyani (opens in a new window).⁠[1][15]