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Andreessen Horowitz is launching an ‘academy’ with no homework and partnerships with Palantir, Google, and Meta
The Verge • • business
Key Points:
- Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is launching the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a selective one-year program aimed at preparing young people to build or join Silicon Valley startups, with partners including major tech companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI.
- The academy offers short classes led by tech leaders and co-op roles at partner companies, but does not grant degrees or accreditation; students must relocate to San Francisco and arrange their own housing.
- Participants will receive over $50,000 in compute credits and a $5,000 travel and research budget, with no traditional grades, tests, or homework, focusing instead on hands-on learning and mentorship from prominent founders.
- This initiative reflects a broader trend of Silicon Valley billionaires creating alternative education models, as a16z founders have criticized traditional colleges like Stanford and MIT for hindering innovation.
- The inaugural program will be free, accept only 50 students—mainly recent high school graduates—and is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2027.
