a16z Deep Dives

How AI Is Redefining What It Means to Be Creative | Deep Dives with a16z

30/06/2026

Yoko Li speaks with Luma's Head of Applied Research Matt Tancik and Phota Labs cofounder and CTO Zach Xia about how AI is changing creativity, photography, and the tools people use to make art. The conversation explores the evolving relationship between artists and AI, from image generation and personalization to creative workflows, controllability, and agentic design tools. They discuss personalization, photography, creative software, model design, evaluation, and why the future of creative tools may depend less on generating content and more on helping people express ideas they couldn't easily realize before. Along the way, they explore AI agents, interfaces, and how creators are already using these tools in unexpected ways. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:01 - What Is Creativity in the Age of AI? 06:01 - From Research to Product: Bridging the Gap 09:48 - Surprising Workflows: How Creators Hack AI Tools 14:00 - Agents as Directors: Personalization & Memory 21:00 - Measuring Taste & Evaluating What "Good" Looks Like 26:21 - Controllability: Beyond Text Prompting 35:00 - AI Photography, Latent Demand & the Blank Canvas Problem Resources: Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewtancik/ Follow Zach on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhihao-zach-xia/ Follow Yoko Li on X: https://x.com/stuffyokodraws Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

The Case for AI That Improves Itself | Deep Dives with a16z

24/06/2026

Matt Bornstein speaks with Mirendil cofounders Behnam Neyshabur and Harsh Mehta about their vision for building self-accelerating AI. After leading research efforts at Google and Anthropic, the founders started Mirendil around a simple question: what happens when AI systems can meaningfully contribute to their own development? Rather than focusing solely on AI as a tool for productivity, they argue that the most important application may be accelerating scientific and technological progress itself. The conversation explores AI research, scaling laws, automated engineering, scientific discovery, and the challenges of building systems that can improve over time. They discuss the future of AI-assisted research, why they believe scientific progress remains bottlenecked by intelligence, and how more capable AI systems could help unlock advances across medicine, engineering, and the natural sciences. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:10 - Meet Mirendil: Self-Accelerating AI for Science 03:11 - The Shortest Path to Accelerating Science 06:14 - What "Self-Accelerating AI" Actually Means 12:50 - From Anthropic to a Startup: The Origin Story 17:54 - Safety, Guardrails & Democratizing AI Research 22:02 - Giving Businesses Their Own AI 26:34 - Scaling Systems of Agents and Humans 35:53 - Where Does It All End? Science as the Goal Resources: Follow Behnam Neyshabur on X: https://x.com/bneyshabur?lang=en Follow Harsh Mehta on X: https://x.com/HarshMeh1a Follow Matt Bornstein on X: https://x.com/BornsteinMatt Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

How AI Will Rewire Consumer Internet | Deep Dives with a16z

23/06/2026

Anish Acharya sits down with Josh Elman to discuss the future of consumer technology and Josh's decision to join a16z. Over the past two decades, Elman has helped shape some of the most important consumer technology products and companies, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Robinhood, Discord, Musical.ly, TikTok, and Apple. Drawing on those experiences, he reflects on how technology has evolved from a niche industry into a central force in everyday life. The conversation explores consumer AI, product design, distribution, social networks, creator ecosystems, and the changing relationship between technology and human behavior. They discuss why AI may unlock an entirely new generation of consumer products, how discovery and distribution are changing, and what founders can learn from previous platform shifts. Along the way, Elman shares his views on retention, network effects, product-market fit, and the opportunities he believes remain underexplored in consumer technology. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro: The Big Ideas 00:56 - Welcome: Meet Josh Elman 01:50 - When Technology Stopped Being the Underdog 03:35 - Inside Apple: From the App Store to Siri 05:53 - What "Personal Intelligence" Really Unlocks 07:34 - The State of Consumer AI 09:12 - Beyond Productivity: Connection, Agents, and Play 13:34 - Agents vs. Apps: The Death of Apps? 16:46 - Distribution in the AI Era: The Rise of Creators 24:06 - Why Retention Beats Everything 26:38 - Robinhood's Referral Magic 31:16 - Musical.ly to TikTok: When Paid Acquisition Works 35:58 - Consumers Paying & Whether the Labs Win It All 40:33 - Where Startups Beat the Labs: The Human Element 48:45 - Request for Startups & Josh's New Role Resources: Follow Josh Elman on X: https://x.com/joshelman Follow Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Teaching AI the Language of Design | Deep Dives with a16z

22/06/2026

Anish Acharya speaks with Microsoft VP of Design John Maeda and Impeccable founder and CEO Paul Bakaus about how AI is changing the practice of design. The conversation explores the relationship between design and technology, the rise of AI-powered creative tools, and whether automation raises the floor, the ceiling, or both. Maeda and Bakaus discuss software craftsmanship, taste, creative judgment, and why some aspects of design may become increasingly automated while others become more valuable. They also examine agentic workflows, the future of user experience, the role of designers in an AI-native world, and how new tools may reshape the relationship between designers, engineers, and software itself. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:53 - How design and technology grew up together 04:45 - Craft, automation, and what agents still can't do 07:58 - Impeccable: teaching agents to speak designer 11:00 - From PostScript to GitHub - a lineage and a team-up 15:57 - Why "AI slop" keeps moving, and the hunt for uniqueness 19:24 - Beyond UX: designing for agents 22:24 - Raising the floor vs. raising the ceiling 34:40 - Surrendering to the machine - and whether AI has taste Resources: Follow Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience Follow John Maeda on X: https://x.com/johnmaeda Follow Paul Bakaus on X: https://x.com/pbakaus Get the GitHub Copilot app: gh.io/app Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Building Enduring Companies Outside Silicon Valley | Santiago Suárez of Addi

17/06/2026

Angela Strange and Gabriel Vásquez speak with Addi founder and CEO Santiago Suárez about building one of Latin America's largest financial platforms. What began as a buy now, pay later product has evolved into a broader ecosystem spanning payments, commerce, logistics, and now banking. Serving millions of consumers and tens of thousands of merchants, Addi sits at the intersection of financial services and commerce in Colombia. The conversation covers building in Latin America, lessons from scaling through multiple market cycles, the importance of technology infrastructure, and why Suárez believes financial inclusion and economic growth are deeply connected. They also discuss AI, organizational design, product strategy, and what it takes to build enduring companies outside Silicon Valley. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - From Yale to JPMorgan: Learning How Great CEOs Operate 06:42 - Why Colombia: Smartphones, Installments & Low UX Bars 12:11 - Lessons from Kaspi: NPS, Roadmap Sequencing & Focus 17:00 - Monorepo, Event Sourcing & the AI-Ready Foundation 22:55 - Starting with Legal: Why the Hardest AI Problem Scales Best 29:55 - Getting an Organization AI-Pilled from Bogotá 37:13 - North Star Metrics, Written Culture & Running 150 Heads Under Budget Resources: Follow Santiago Suárez on X: https://x.com/SantiaSua Follow Angela Strange on X: https://x.com/astrange Follow Gabriel Vásquez on X: https://x.com/GEVS94 Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Building the Future of Image Generation with Ideogram's CEO

15/06/2026

Yoko Li and Justine Moore speak with Ideogram founder and CEO Mohammad Norouzi about image generation models, design workflows, and the evolving relationship between AI and creative work. The conversation covers Ideogram's decision to release an open-weight model, the challenges of generating text and layouts within images, and why controllability has become an increasingly important area of research. They discuss prompting, customization, editing, and the tradeoffs between general-purpose models and systems optimized for specific creative tasks. Along the way, Norouzi shares his views on open-source AI, design tools, agentic workflows, and how image generation models may evolve as creators and enterprises seek greater control over their outputs. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Why Ideogram Went Open Weights 03:07 - Editable Design, Layout Control & Text Rendering 06:54 - How Training Data & Evaluation Drive Quality 09:22 - JSON Prompting as an Intermediate Representation 15:17 - Taste, Graphic Design & Training a 9B Parameter Model 22:54 - Enterprise Customization & Fine-Tuning 30:03 - Agents, Editing & the Visual AI Workflow Resources: Follow Mohammad Norouzi on X: https://x.com/mo_norouzi Follow Yoko Li on X: https://x.com/stuffyokodraws Follow Justine Moore on X: https://x.com/venturetwins Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

How Exa is Building the Perfect Search Engine | Deep Dives with a16z

4/06/2026

Sarah Wang speaks with Exa cofounder and CEO Will Bryk about building search infrastructure for the AI era. The conversation covers Exa’s origins, why traditional search engines were not designed for AI agents, and how search changes when the user is no longer a human but an autonomous system. They discuss retrieval, agent workflows, coding agents, data access, and why search may become a foundational layer for the emerging agent economy. Along the way, Bryk shares his views on AI-native products, the future of information discovery, and why some of the most important problems in technology can ultimately be framed as search problems. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Exa Origin Story 02:35 - Beating Google With LLMs 09:00 - Search Built For Agents 26:01 - Tokenpocalypse and Retrieval 29:21 - RL for Better Search 32:23 - Benchmarks and Agentic TAM 44:20 - Culture Hiring and Wrap Resources: Find Will on X: https://x.com/WilliamBryk Find Sarah on X: https://x.com/sarahdingwang Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Why AI Agents Need Context | Deep Dives with a16z

2/06/2026

Martin Casado speaks with George Fraser, cofounder and CEO of Fivetran, about the future of data infrastructure in the age of AI. The conversation covers Fivetran’s merger with dbt, the changing role of data platforms, and why Fraser believes many companies are overestimating the threat AI poses to enterprise software. They discuss open data access, the backlash against AI agents accessing systems of record, and why businesses still need centralized data foundations even as agent-based workflows become more common. Along the way, Fraser shares his views on data gravity, coding agents, enterprise AI adoption, and how AI is changing the way software companies build and operate products. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - AI Agents Need Context 03:36 - SaaS Lockdown Backlash 10:21 - Open Data Playbook 19:47 - Enterprise Agents in Practice 27:06 - Minimal Agents vs MCP 29:01 - SaaSpocalypse and AI-Native Threats 35:07 - AI Boosts Data Foundations 39:26 - dbt Merger and CEO Outlook Resources: Follow George Fraser on X: https://x.com/frasergeorgew Follow Martin Casado on X: https://x.com/martin_casado Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Pyramid of Work and The Future of Enterprise Automation | The a16z Show

1/06/2026

Anish Acharya and Olivia Moore speak with Pablo Palafox and Luis Paarup about the challenges of deploying AI agents in operationally complex industries. The conversation covers the evolution of voice AI, enterprise workflows, and why logistics became an early proving ground for agent-based systems. They discuss context, coordination, and execution inside large organizations, as well as the role of forward-deployed engineering, enterprise deployment, and what it takes to move AI from experimentation into production. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:57 - Founding Story and Early Insight 04:11 - Why Voice and Negotiation 06:03 - Guardrails and Agent Platform 09:00 - Enterprise Workflows in Action 15:52 - Forward Deployed to Product 22:18 - Systems of Execution and Twin 28:36 - Pyramid of Complexity and Beyond Resources: Pablo Palafox on X: https://x.com/pablorpalafox Luis Paarup on X: https://x.com/PaarupLuis Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience Olivia Moore on X: https://x.com/omooretweets Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Rebuilding Global Banking With Stablecoins and AI | Deep Dives with Jeeves CEO

28/05/2026

Angela Strange speaks with Dileep Thazhmon, founder and CEO of Jeeves, about building a global financial operating system for enterprises across Latin America using stablecoins and AI. The conversation covers the challenges of building localized financial infrastructure across 25 countries, from regulation and payments to underwriting and compliance. They also discuss why stablecoin adoption is accelerating in Latin America, and how AI is helping Jeeves scale billions in payment volume while automating underwriting, customer support, reconciliation, and KYB workflows. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Founder Story and Jeeves Overview 03:37 - Building Moats Infrastructure and Licenses 10:02 - Enterprise Focus and Stablecoin Rails 18:53 - Instant Pay vs Swift 19:33 - Argentina Stablecoin Card 22:06 - AI Boosts Efficiency 24:57 - Onchain Future and Founder Lessons Resources: Follow Dileep Thazhmon on X: https://x.com/thazhmon Follow Angela Strange on X: https://x.com/astrange Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Why Physical AI Is the Next Big Opportunity | Deep Dives with a16z

23/04/2026

Erin Price-Wright speaks with Alex Modon, cofounder and CEO at Unlimited Industries, and Davide Asnaghi, CEO at Diode Computers, about how AI is moving from software into the physical world. They discuss automating construction and electronics design, using code and simulation to model real-world systems, and how incentives and manufacturing constraints shape adoption. They also examine what it takes to scale infrastructure, reduce build times, and unlock more abundant industrial capacity in the United States. Timestamps: 00:00 - Trailer 00:51 - Introductions & What is Physical World AI 02:00 - Automating Construction End to End 04:36 - Automating Circuit Board Design & Manufacturing 10:16 - Changing Entrenched Industries & Vertical Integration 19:21 - Getting AI to Understand Real World Physics 29:28 - Do We Need a Breakthrough to Close the Last Gap? 34:24 - Humanoids, Robotics & the Future of Physical Automation 44:54 - Second Order Effects & Why This Work Matters Read the full transcript here: https://www.a16z.news/s/podcast Resources: Follow Alex on X: https://x.com/alexmodon Follow Davide on X: https://x.com/davideasnaghi Follow Erin on X: https://x.com/espricewright Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: [https://x.com/a16z](https://x.com/a16z) Find a16z on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z](https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z) Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX](https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX) Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711) Follow our host: [https://x.com/eriktorenberg](https://x.com/eriktorenberg) Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see [a16z.com/disclosures](http://a16z.com/disclosures).

Outsmarting Uber: Why Bolt Wins in Europe | Deep Dives with a16z

22/04/2026

What does it take to build a global mobility company from a country of just 1.3 million people? Markus Villig, founder and CEO of Bolt, joins the show to share how he scaled from Estonia to 50+ countries, navigating early scrappy days, a near-bankruptcy from expanding too fast, and the hard-won lessons behind Bolt’s capital-efficient growth. They also discuss building in Europe vs. the U.S., competing against much better-funded rivals, and why culture and ambition matter more than regulation. Finally, Markus lays out what’s next: autonomy, robotaxis, and why the future of mobility will be a hybrid of human drivers and self-driving fleets. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:58 - Introduction & The Bolt Story 03:23 - Early Days: Taxi Companies & the Pivot to Drivers 08:55 - Surviving COVID & Tripling Market Share 15:00 - Why Estonia Punches Above Its Weight 18:24 - Competing Against Uber on 12x Less Capital 22:57 - Bolt's Autonomous Driving Vision 34:48 - How AI is Transforming Bolt & What's Next Resources: Find Markus on X: https://x.com/villigm Find Gabriel on X: https://x.com/GEVS94 Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

The Next Wave of AI Companies in Latin America | Tako Founder on The a16z Show

15/04/2026

Sebastian Mejia cofounded Rappi and scaled it into nine countries before stepping away to start Tako, an AI company taking on Brazil's labor and tax complexity. Angela Strange and Gabriel Vasquez speak with him about building durable companies in hostile markets, and what it will take for Latin America to produce global AI winners. Timestamps: 00:00 — Intro 01:24 — Growing Up in Colombia 5:50 — From Europe to New York 10:02 — Building Rappi 17:49 — Starting Tako 22:53 — Recruiting World-Class Talent 36:37 — The AI Opportunity in Latin America 56:28 — Advice for Future Founders Resources: Follow Sebastián Mejía on X: https://twitter.com/mejiasebas Follow Angela Strange on X: https://x.com/astrange Follow Gabriel Vasquez on X: https://x.com/GEVS94 Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Rebuilding Git for AI Agents and The Future of Developer Tools | Deep Dives with a16z

8/04/2026

Matt Bornstein speaks with Scott Chacon, cofounder of GitHub and CEO of GitButler, about why Git's user interface has barely changed since 2005, how GitButler is rethinking version control for both humans and AI agents, and what the "next GitHub" might actually look like. They cover parallel branches, agent-optimized CLI design, the future of code review, and why the best engineers of the future will be the best writers. Timestamps: 0:00—Intro 1:11—Why Scott came back to version control after GitHub 6:18—How Git was actually built 11:32—Designing GitButler's CLI for agents 18:05—Parallel branches: how GitButler handles multi-agent workflows 23:33—What happens to GitHub in an agentic world 27:00—Code review needs a rethink: PRs, commit messages, and what comes next 32:19—Writing and communication as the new developer superpower Read the full transcript here: https://www.a16z.news/s/podcast Resources: Follow Scott Chacon on X: https://twitter.com/chacon Follow Matt Bornstein on X: https://twitter.com/BornsteinMatt Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Inside The Industry That Powers Every Business In America | Deep Dives with a16z

1/04/2026

Joe Schmidt speaks with Peter Doyle, CEO of Treeline, about why the $100B managed service provider market is a decade behind modern technology and how Treeline is building a new model that combines human technicians with AI and automation. They discuss the company's growth strategy, why pure play software struggles in services categories, and what the forward deployed engineer trend tells us about AI adoption. Timestamps: 0:00—Introduction 3:29—Why SaaS Alone Fails Here 7:30—Owning Workflows and Change Management 11:00—Why Peter Started Treeline 15:28—Customer Impact: Proactive IT in Practice 19:41—The Biggest Hindrance to AI Progress 24:16—Traditional MSPs in 10 to 15 Years 31:17—The SaaS Is Dead Debate Resources: Follow Peter Doyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwdoyle/ Follow Joe Schmidt on X: https://twitter.com/joeschmidtiv Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

AI, Data Centers, and the Infrastructure Needed to Power Them | a16z

31/03/2026

a16z general partners Erin Price-Wright and Erik Torenberg speak with Doug Bernauer, founder and CEO of Radiant, and Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron, about rebuilding American energy infrastructure. They discuss portable micro nuclear reactors, solid state power electronics, why delivery rather than generation is the real bottleneck, the case for modular manufacturing, and whether data centers are actually good for the grid. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction 03:42 — Why Radiant Exists 06:01 — Why Heron Exists 08:48 — Demand Surge Explained 14:30 — Nuclear Progress and Hurdles 18:43 — Heron Link Explained 29:01 — Nuclear as a Product 34:57 — Where Microreactors Fit 44:07 — Data Centers and the Grid Resources: Follow Doug Bernauer on X: https://twitter.com/DougBernauer Follow Drew Baglino on X: https://twitter.com/baglino Follow Erin Price-Wright on X: https://twitter.com/espricewright Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Privacy, Resilience, and Reinventing the Cellular Network | Cape CEO on a16z

26/03/2026

David Ulevitch speaks with Justin Fanelli, CTO of the Navy, and John Doyle, founder and CEO at Cape, about how the Navy is transforming its approach to technology adoption, from running bootcamps for program managers to piloting commercial solutions in months instead of years. They discuss the Salt Typhoon breach that exposed China's infiltration of American cellular networks, how Cape built a secure alternative, and what defense tech founders need to understand about selling to the government. Timestamps: 0:00—Introduction 7:27—Cape: Privacy, Security, Resilience 11:48—Fixing Software Acquisition 16:51—Defining Success Metrics From the Start 21:36—Scaling Pilots Across the Navy 28:33—Navy Opportunity Areas 36:45—Salt Typhoon Explained 43:03—Be a Bridge Resources: Follow Justin Fanelli on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfanelli/ Follow John Doyle on X: https://twitter.com/JohnDoyleCape Follow David Ulevitch on X: https://twitter.com/davidu Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Submarines and the Future of Defense Manufacturing | Hadrian CEO on a16z

25/03/2026

David Ulevitch speaks with Chris Power, founder and CEO at Hadrian, and Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher, the Pentagon's first direct reporting portfolio manager for submarines, at the opening of Hadrian's Factory Four in Cherokee, Alabama. They discuss the state of America's submarine industrial base, why the Navy now needs more than five times the manufacturing capacity it had a decade ago, and how software-driven factories and a new workforce can close the gap. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction 04:58 — Workforce And Software Fix 08:41 — Restarting The Industrial Base 11:35 — Submarines In Drone Era 15:50 — Supply Chain Bottlenecks 19:54 — Drones Versus Big Subs 21:28 — Repeatable Factory Model Resources: Follow Chris Power on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/powerc/ Follow VADM Robert Gaucher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertgaucher/ Follow David Ulevitch on X: https://x.com/davidu Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Why Modern War Needs Intelligent Power Systems | Chariot Defense CEO on a16z

24/03/2026

Erin Price-Wright speaks with Adam Warmoth, founder and CEO of Chariot Defense, and Alex Miller, CTO of the U.S. Army, about the power crisis at the heart of modern military operations. As the battlefield becomes more distributed and electronics-heavy, the Army's legacy power infrastructure, built around diesel generators and lead-acid batteries, is struggling to keep up. They examine how commercial breakthroughs in EV and aviation technology are being adapted for the front line, why fuel convoys are a military liability, and how procurement reform is letting startups get hardware into soldiers' hands faster than ever. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction 01:44 — Chariot Mission Explained 04:33 — Distributed Warfare Reality 06:58 — Soldier Level Power Math 11:37 — Signatures and Fuel Risks 13:55 — M424 Hybrid Power System 19:37 — Commercial Tech to Battlefield 23:13 — Outcome Focused Acquisition 39:15 — Onshoring Battery Supply Resources: Follow Adam Warmoth on X: https://x.com/AdamWarmoth Follow Alex Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-m-0983a5201/ Follow Erin Price-Wright on X: https://x.com/espricewright Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Are Tariffs Fueling the AI Race? | Deep Dives with a16z

18/03/2026

Erik Torenberg sits down with Jacob Helberg to discuss AI, manufacturing, supply chains, and the new geopolitics of technology. Drawing on themes from Helberg’s book The Wires of War, they explore why hardware, industrial capacity, and secure supply chains have become central to both economic strength and national security. They also unpack what it means to “win the AI race” — from model leadership and global adoption to energy, compute, tariffs, and reindustrialization in the U.S. Timestamps: 00:00—Introduction 00:39—Wires of War Thesis 04:31—Plan to Win AI 11:56—Tariffs and Reindustrialization 17:33—Europe Defense Reality Check 22:06—Middle East Sovereign AI 25:03—Compute as New Oil 31:11—Mineral Bottlenecks Ahead ( Resources: Find Jacob Helberg on X: https://x.com/jacobhelberg Find Erik Torenberg on X: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

AI Copilots Are a Dead End. Here's What Actually Works | Kavak CEO

5/03/2026

a16z's Angela Strange and Gabriel Vasquez speak with Carlos García Ottati, founder and CEO of Kavak, about building Latin America's largest online used car marketplace across Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the Middle East. They discuss why building in emerging markets means constructing four businesses underneath your business, how Kavak replaced copilot tools with AI agents handling 90 to 95% of customer interactions, and what it took to go flat for a year during the transition before growing four times on the other side. Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction 00:34 – Kavak's scale: 10,000 cars a month, 3,500 people, all of Latin America 04:58 – How his parents stayed optimistic through every move — including a car that only went in reverse 13:05 – How getting defrauded selling a car became the idea for Kavak 22:46 – Why they stayed in Mexico City for four years before expanding anywhere 35:31 – Humans with blood vs. agents with electricity: how Kavak decided who does what 40:53 – The year everything got worse before it got better 59:38 – Treat problems like a protein bar — pressure is earned 01:00:38 – Why Carlos fires himself every year (and keeps hiring himself back) Resources: Follow Carlos García Ottati on X: https://twitter.com/carlosjgarciao Angela Strange on X: https://twitter.com/astrange Gabriel Vasquez on X: https://twitter.com/GEVS94 Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Temporal CEO on AI Agents & The Future of Software | Deep Dives with a16z

19/02/2026

Sarah Wang, general partner at a16z, and Raghu Raghuram, managing partner at a16z, speak with Samar Abbas, CEO of Temporal, about how durable execution became the infrastructure layer behind the world's most used AI agents. They cover why long-running agents need state management and recoverability, how Temporal powers OpenAI's Codex and Snap's story processing, and why the shift from interactive to background agents is creating distributed systems problems at a scale that didn't exist two years ago. 00:00 Introduction 04:03 Temporal’s Origin Story 11:14 Why Agents Raise the Stakes 16:00 Specialized Agents Need Durable RPC 25:20 Deep Research Agents 30:58 Execution Histories as a Superpower 39:04 Minimal Viable Long-Running Agent Architecture 45:07 Context Engineering at Scale 52:40 Where Value Accrues: The “Five-Layer Cake” and Breakout AI Applications Read the full transcript here: https://www.a16z.news/s/podcast Follow Sarah Wang, general partner at a16z Raghu Raghuram, managing partner at a16z Samar Abbas, cofounder & CEO at Temporal Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Braintrust CEO on Where Engineering Actually Matters in AI

17/02/2026

Martin Casado speaks with Ankur Goyal, founder and CEO of Braintrust, about where engineering actually matters in AI and where it doesn't. They cover the open source vs closed source model cycle, why Chinese models are gaining ground faster than spending suggests, whether AI demand will eventually saturate, and the Bash vs SQL benchmark that challenges the "just give it a computer" approach to agents. 00:00 – Introduction 03:10 — What 'Evals' Actually Mean (Hypotheses and the Scientific Method) 07:34 — AI Is Continuous, Systems Are Discrete 08:29 — The Bitter Lesson: Universal Function Approximators vs. Engineering 11:58 — Engineering the Harness, Not the Model 17:47 — Chinese Models: High Token Usage, Low Dollar Share 20:37 — Why Open Source Models Aren't Dominating Yet 27:08 — Frontier Labs, Infinite Capital, and Scaling Limits 30:38 — Demand-Side Saturation: Enterprises Can't Absorb Better Models 38:47 — Bash vs. SQL for Agents: "The Results Are Comical" Follow Martin Casado on X: https://twitter.com/martin_casado Follow Ankur Goyal on X: https://twitter.com/ankrgyl Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

How Palantir Scaled: Why the Best Software Is Built Backwards

29/01/2026

Palantir is known for building technology used in defense, energy, and other high-stakes operational environments where software has to work in the real world, not just on a roadmap. In this episode, a16z partner Erin Price-Wright sits down with Akshay Krishnaswamy, Chief Architect at Palantir, to explain the company’s Forward Deployed Engineer model. They discuss what forward-deployed engineering actually is, how it differs from services or solutions roles, and why it has become central to building software for complex, mission-critical problems. The conversation also explores the tradeoffs of the model, including how to avoid turning into a consultancy, how it shapes product development and hiring, and when this approach makes sense for founders building infrastructure and enterprise companies. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction 02:17 — Defining Forward Deployed Engineering 04:49 — Differences Between FDE and Other Roles 06:09 — Building and Managing Teams 09:55 — Challenges and Evolution of FDE 15:27 — Maintaining Product Focus and Customer Relationships Resources: Follow Akshay on X: https://twitter.com/hyperindexed Follow Erin on X: https://twitter.com/espricewright Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details, please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Mintlify and the Transition From Human Docs to Agent Infrastructure

23/01/2026

Mintlify is a documentation platform built by cofounders Han Wang and Hahnbee Lee to help teams create and maintain developer docs. In this episode, Andreessen Horowitz general partners Jennifer Li and Yoko Li speak with Han and Hahnbee about how coding agents are changing what “good docs” mean, shifting documentation from a human-only resource into infrastructure that powers AI tools, support agents, and internal knowledge workflows. They share Mintlify’s early journey, including eight pivots, the two-day prototype that landed their first customer, and the “do things that don’t scale” sales motion that helped them win early traction. The conversation also covers why docs go out of date, what “self-healing” documentation requires to actually work, and how serving fast-moving customers has shaped both their product priorities and their pace. 00:00 — Introduction 06:59 — Building the First Version and Recognizing Product-Market Fit 14:24 — AI's Impact on Documentation and Product Evolution 22:42 — Product Development Philosophy and the Messy Middle 24:17 — AI as a Tool and the Importance of Context for Agents 25:53 — Why Documentation Has Historically Been Out of Date 36:46 — Serving Large Customers Follow Jennifer Li on X: https://twitter.com/JenniferHli Follow Yoko Li on X: https://twitter.com/stuffyokodraws Follow Han Wang on X: https://twitter.com/handotdev Follow Hahnbee Lee on X: https://twitter.com/hahnbeelee Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: [https://x.com/a16z](https://x.com/a16z) Find a16z on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z](https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z) Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX](https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX) Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711) Follow our host: [https://x.com/eriktorenberg](https://x.com/eriktorenberg) Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see [a16z.com/disclosures](http://a16z.com/disclosures).