Andreessen Horowitz has successfully secured an impressive $15 billion in new funding. Of this total, $1.7 billion is allocated to its infrastructure team, renowned for its significant investments in artificial intelligence, including firms such as Black Forest Labs, Cursor, OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Ideogram, Fal, and many others.
Jennifer Li, a general partner at a16z overseeing the infrastructure team and instrumental in investments like ElevenLabs—which has recently reached a valuation of $11 billion—has a well-defined strategy for deploying this latest capital.
These investors are accustomed to managing billion-dollar allocations. In 2024, when the firm raised $7.2 billion, the infrastructure team received $1.25 billion, more than any other division.
What makes infrastructure particularly exciting in 2026? It encompasses everything from chip design to the software stack utilized by developers. This sector is pivotal to AI development and is currently experiencing transformative shifts in both its application (AI coding) and the technologies available to developers (such as ElevenLabs’ voice models and Fal’s multi-modal model marketplace).
Li stands at the forefront of AI advancements, understanding the present landscape and forecasting its trajectory towards 2026, while also critically evaluating some prevalent industry assumptions, such as the notion that AI will soon replace human creativity.
In today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Venture and Startups Editor Julie Bort engages in a discussion with Li regarding a16z’s outlook on the future of this AI super cycle. They delve into the challenges faced by AI-native startups, the importance of search infrastructure, and the types of companies currently attracting funding.
Tune in to the full episode to explore:
- Li’s insights into existing gaps for startups working on AI stacks
- Distinctive traits of the most successful AI portfolio companies
- The growing significance of tools like voice AI, along with the discomfort that may accompany this evolution
- The AI startups Li is currently seeking to fund
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