3 minBusiness
Andreessen Horowitz Renames Crypto Fund a16z Frontier and Widens Focus to AI and Robotics
Andreessen Horowitz has rebranded its digital-assets arm a16z Crypto as a16z Frontier, expanding the $2.2 billion fund beyond crypto into artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies while continuing to back blockchain startups and crypto regulation.
Andreessen Horowitz is dropping the word « crypto » from the name of its digital-assets arm, rebranding the unit as a16z Frontier and widening its mandate to include artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies. The venture firm announced the change Thursday, eight years after launching a16z Crypto as a dedicated spin-off in 2018.
The renamed fund will be led by managing partner Chris Dixon alongside Andreessen, Horowitz and general partners Eddy Lazzarin and Guy Wuollet. The shift broadens the scope of the $2.2 billion fund the firm announced in May, though Andreessen Horowitz said it will keep backing crypto startups and advocating for crypto regulation.
Dixon framed the change as a response to how blockchain technology has become embedded in ordinary businesses. As more companies use blockchain behind the scenes, the line between crypto companies and other businesses is blurring, he wrote in a post on X. « Does that make them crypto companies? The label matters less now, » he said.
The firm had already begun investing beyond crypto before the announcement. In June, a16z crypto led a $33 million seed round for Ornn, a company building financial products for the AI computing market. In October 2025, Andreessen Horowitz co-led a funding round for the prediction market Kalshi.
The rebrand marks a reversal from May, when a spokesperson for a16z crypto told Fortune that its fifth fund was « 100% dedicated to investing in crypto entrepreneurs, » even as rival firms had started expanding into artificial intelligence and other sectors. The latest $2.2 billion vehicle brought the total raised across five funds to $9.8 billion.
Andreessen Horowitz first entered the sector with a $350 million fund in 2018, with an original mission to acquire cryptoassets and back projects built on blockchain technology. It went on to raise increasingly large vehicles, including a $4.5 billion fund in 2022. Among its most successful investments were the decentralized exchange Uniswap and the crypto custodian Anchorage Digital.
The move follows similar expansions by other prominent crypto investors. When Paradigm announced its $1.2 billion fund in July, it said its investment approach had started in crypto but would now extend to artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies. In May, Haun Ventures founder Katie Haun announced $1 billion in new funds, writing that building financial services from the ground up « includes crypto, but is bigger than that toolset alone. » The firm instead increased its focus on other sectors, such as emerging payments models and the agentic economy.
Separately, a16z crypto general partner Ali Yahya has told some investors he plans to depart to launch a startup, according to The Information. His tenure dates to 2017, when he became the first person working full time on the firm’s crypto team.
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