An Internet legend is launching a boutique venture-capital firm in Silicon Valley. Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Netscape Communications, has teamed up with Ben Horowitz, his Netscape colleague, to form Andreessen Horowitz. The firm’s first fund totals $300 million.
Andreessen Horowitz draws on the duo’s experience as successful engineers and entrepreneurs to create a VC firm with the needs of today’s technology startups in mind. The firm will make investments ranging from $50,000 to $50 million.
“Innovation is thriving despite the current economic climate,” said Andreessen. “Ben and I are huge supporters of entrepreneurs and want to help turn today’s sparks of brilliance into the next big thing.”
A New Approach to Funding
Andreessen Horowitz described a “new philosophical approach” to venture-capital investing: Rather than being bound by tight restrictions on investment size or stage focus, the firm is open to committing any amount, up to $50 million, at various stages of a company’s life.
“We see venture investing as a company-specific exercise,” Horowitz said. “Therefore, we are looking for the best entrepreneurs and companies regardless of stage.”
The firm will focus on investing in startups in the technology sector, including consumer Internet companies, cloud computing, networking, enterprise applications, and social-media businesses. Andreessen and Horowitz may take board seats in their portfolio companies.
Who Is this Dynamic Duo?
Andreessen and Horowitz are no strangers to investing in startups. Since 2004, they have acted as angel investors for more than 45 companies, including Aliph (Jawbone), ExtraHop, LinkedIn and Twitter.
“We’ve had some time to test our investment approach and support great entrepreneurs,” said Andreessen. “After years of angel investing, we decided to go pro and raise a fund.”
Andreessen currently serves on the boards of eBay and Facebook, and is chairman of the board of Ning, which he cofounded and launched in 2005. Best known as the coauthor of…