Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced the launch of the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a San Francisco-based for-profit institution billed as a college alternative for aspiring technology entrepreneurs, according to Forbes and The Tech Portal. Backed by a $42 million seed investment from prominent tech companies including Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Palantir, the academy opens its doors to address a perceived gap in traditional education for the artificial intelligence era, as reported by Forbes.
The Founding Class Fellowship and Curriculum Structure
The academy is now accepting applications for its inaugural one-year program, called the Founding Class Fellowship, which begins in the fall of 2027, according to Forbes and The Tech Portal. According to Forbes, the program targets recent high school graduates and students who have completed up to two years of coursework at an elite university. The inaugural one-year fellowship is tuition-free and provides accepted students with $50,000 in compute credits alongside a $5,000 travel and research budget, according to The Tech Portal.
The curriculum diverges sharply from traditional higher education. According to Forbes, students will not take tests, complete homework, or receive grades. Instead, the program focuses on practical creation, teaching participants how to build products and services from the ground up using artificial intelligence. Instruction covers designing AI systems, fundraising for startups, selling businesses and storytelling, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman slated to serve as an instructor or guest lecturer, per Forbes reporting.
Founding Partners and Academic Format
The institution relies on a tripartite structure consisting of Pursuits, Courses, and Co-ops, according to The Tech Portal. Pursuits involve self-directed personal projects, startup ideas, or quests. Courses are short, high-impact programs lasting anywhere from two days to four weeks, taught by actual practitioners. Co-ops consist of immersive stints at real companies.
Ten founding partners—Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit, and Stripe—will co-create the curriculum, grant compute access, and provide hands-on learning opportunities, according to The Tech Portal. Gagan Biyani, founder of Udemy and Maven, is leading the academy, while the board features Marc Andreessen and Erik Torenberg, alongside angel backers including Tobi Lütke, Garry Tan, Tony Xu, and Adam D’Angelo, as reported by The Tech Portal.
Tuition Plans and Future Expansion
While the inaugural 2027 fellowship is tuition-free, the academy intends to seek regulatory approval to scale into a two-year program starting in the fall of 2028, according to Forbes and The Tech Portal. Tuition for the proposed two-year program is projected to be similar to that of elite private universities, according to reporting from Forbes.
“The training that worked for the Industrial Revolution isn’t going to map perfectly onto the AI revolution, so somebody has to pioneer how you train a person for this new world,” Ben Horowitz, co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said in a statement published by Forbes.
Related reading