Human Data is Key to AI: Alex Wang from Scale AI

a16z General Partner Alex Rampell joined the Technology Brothers Podcast Network following the announcement of Andreessen Horowitz’s new fund to discuss what drives founders to build enduring companies. Drawing on his journey from early software entrepreneur to leading a16z’s apps fund, Alex shared how high agency, deep historical understanding, and the ability to attract talent, capital, and customers separate great founders from the rest. He reflected on motivation beyond money, explaining why “revenge or redemption” often fuels the resilience required to push through the hardest moments of company building.

AI is changing how companies are built and how venture firms operate, forcing faster decisions, clearer judgment, and new ways of working. In this exclusive conversation, Ben Horowitz shares how Andreessen Horowitz adapts to that shift. He explains why managing GPs is different from running a company, how investors are evaluated at the moment of decision rather than years later, and why verticalized teams help the firm scale without internal politics. Ben also breaks down the current AI cycle, from treating AI as a new computing platform to why application design and model orchestration matter more than raw model size. He discusses the return of M&A and why today’s AI market reflects real demand, not just inflated valuations.

This episode is a special feed drop from The Twenty Minute VC, featuring a conversation between Harry Stebbings and a16z General Partner Alex Rampell. Alex shares how he thinks about investing at scale, including why ownership and incentives matter, how venture changes as funds get larger, and what it really takes to win the best deals. He walks through his core founder framework of backing people who can materialize talent, capital, and customers, and explains why the strongest companies often have “hostages,” not just customers. The discussion also covers pricing risk, secondaries, moral hazard in private markets, and how AI is reshaping software, labor, and company formation. Together, Harry and Alex unpack what it takes to build durable, category-defining companies in an era where technology is moving faster than ever.

Following the announcement of a16z’s new fund, Andreessen Horowitz cofounder and general partner Ben Horowitz joined TBPN to discuss how Andreessen Horowitz has evolved its firm structure as technology becomes embedded across every sector of the economy. Ben reflects on which lessons from The Hard Thing About Hard Things still apply to founders, why entrepreneurship remains difficult at any scale, and how long-term partnerships shape decision-making inside the firm. He explains the move toward specialized, independent investment teams, how a16z evaluates new markets, and why AI represents a generational technology shift that changes how companies are built and how investors operate. The conversation also lessons from prior technology cycles and bubbles, the role of public policy in sustaining innovation ecosystems, and how founders can navigate modern media attention and public discourse while building durable, long-term companies.

In this feed drop from Uncapped, Jack Altman sits down with a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz to unpack the founding bet behind Andreessen Horowitz. VC should be a better product for entrepreneurs, built on real operating experience, real networks, and real support. Ben shares how he and Marc Andreessen have worked together for 30 years, including a Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson analogy for their partnership, how they make decisions, and what it takes to scale a venture firm without losing the edge that actually helps founders. They also dig into why boards matter, how platform teams can change what partners do day to day, and the difference between “heat seeking” investing and conviction driven company building, especially in sectors like AI and crypto.