Introduction
Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) American Dynamism fund has launched a new fellowship program aimed at introducing top engineers and technologists to venture investing. This initiative is expected to help the firm identify less obvious sources for VC talent, which could potentially lead to innovative investments in the nation’s interest across hard tech sectors.
Background
The American Dynamism fund was established in 2023 with a broad aim of supporting companies building in the nation’s interest across hard tech sectors, including manufacturing, robotics, space, and defense. The $7.2 billion fund has allocated around $600 million for American Dynamism. This fellowship program is one of the key components of this initiative.
Fellowship Program Details
The 12-month American Dynamism Engineering Fellows Program will take three technologists on an investment crash course. During this period, they will learn about venture investing, work alongside a16z partners to evaluate potential investments, and engage with the fund’s portfolio of industrial companies. At the end of the program, fellows could potentially join the firm, join a portico, or even decide to start their own company.
According to David Ulevitch, a partner at the American Dynamism fund, "This is a win in every scenario." He believes that this type of person may not think at the outset that investing, or being a startup founder, is necessarily for them. The program was established as a structured way for technically minded people to explore a career transition.
Attracting Technical Talent
Ulevitch emphasized the importance of attracting technical talent and mentioned that the inbound approach is not always effective in identifying the right candidates. He believes that investing often requires people who seem like "the least obvious candidates." The selected fellows should have expertise that intersects hardware and software, and they should be excited about scaling the American Dynamism mission more broadly.
The team aims to run the fellowship on an annual basis, with the selected fellows based in either San Francisco or New York. Details about the program and a link to apply can be found here.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the fellowship program, candidates should have some level of commercial work experience, such as spending a few years at a startup. Standouts who have been pursuing advanced degrees alongside stellar commercial or personal projects could also be suitable.
Conclusion
The American Dynamism Engineering Fellows Program is an innovative initiative by Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism fund to identify top technologists and introduce them to venture investing. This program has the potential to attract talented individuals from various backgrounds, leading to innovative investments in the nation’s interest across hard tech sectors.
Related Topics:
- a16z
- Andreessen Horowitz
- Venture Capital
Aria Alamalhodaei – Reporter
Aria Alamalhodaei is a reporter at TechCrunch who covers the space and defense industries. Previously, she covered the public utilities and power grid for California Energy Markets. You can also find her work at MIT’s Undark Magazine, The Verge, and Discover Magazine.
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