Andreessen Horowitz Encryption Fund: Creating the Golden Rules for Web3 Investment

Andreessen Horowitz(, abbreviated as a16z), was founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. With successful investments in several well-known internet companies such as Facebook and Twitter, a16z quickly rose to the ranks of top venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. Currently, the firm manages assets exceeding $35 billion, with investment areas covering artificial intelligence, biotechnology, consumer, encryption, enterprise services, and more.

a16z first entered the encryption investment field in 2013, participating as the lead investor in a $25 million Series B funding round for a trading platform, and subsequently made multiple additional investments. This decision not only brought substantial returns to a16z but also established its leading position in the encryption investment field.

To further deepen its engagement in the encryption market, a16z established a dedicated encryption fund in 2018. This fund has completed 5 rounds of fundraising to date, managing over 7.6 billion USD. The first fund has a scale of about 300 million USD, the second 515 million USD, the third 2.2 billion USD, the fourth 4.5 billion USD, and there is also a 600 million USD Web3 gaming fund. It is reported that a16z is planning to raise about 3.4 billion USD for the next early-stage and seed fund, focusing on emerging fields such as encryption and biotechnology.

Chris Dixon is the founder of the a16z encryption fund and a key figure at the company. He joined a16z in 2012 after having founded several technology companies and made angel investments. Under Dixon's leadership, a16z has invested in multiple significant projects in the encryption field.

The a16z encryption fund adheres to the "all-weather" investment philosophy, maintaining a stable investment pace regardless of market conditions. Even in a bear market, the fund remains active. In the past year, the a16z encryption fund has made over 30 investments, with 11 being lead investments.

The investment characteristics of the a16z encryption fund include: a high proportion of leading and follow-on investments, a wide range of investment areas, and a strong ability in media promotion. The fund's founder, Chris Dixon, is known as the "strongest evangelist for Web3" and often speaks publicly for the encryption industry. a16z also provides comprehensive support for the projects it invests in, including marketing, legal, and other services.

In terms of investment in potential projects, a16z's encryption fund has a unique vision. In addition to well-known projects, there are also several emerging projects worth paying attention to, covering multiple tracks including DeFi, infrastructure, and NFTs.

The development history of a16z reflects the evolution from Web2 to Web3. As the company's founders have said, software is changing the world, and encryption technology represents the next important stage of the internet. a16z looks forward to creating brilliance again in this new era and contributing to the development of Web3.