What Is Andreessen Horowitz Frontier?

Chris Dixon says Andreessen Horowitz is expanding the crypto fund to Andreessen Horowitz Frontier for two reasons, and he leaves the second one uncertain: there was maybe a gap in coverage of stranger ideas. Crypto has worked really well in some areas, so it now sits inside the broader technology landscape. Other groups at the firm have so many interesting opportunities in core areas, and are doing an amazing job with them.

Stablecoins have become a normal part of the technology landscape. Companies like Stripe use them, almost every fintech company treats them as part of the toolbox, and Wall Street firms are moving heavily into crypto, including tokenized stocks and other assets. The category is growing fast. Years ago crypto was its own world, with its own companies and its own investors. The lines have blurred enough that people at the firm ask whether Stripe is a crypto company, because many businesses sit where fintech, Wall Street, and crypto meet.

The outer-planets name comes from the television show Firefly. Inner planets are the core markets, and outer planets are the wackier ones. The firm used to back both kinds of investing. Frontier work is the area he is comfortable with. He joined the firm in 2013 and told Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz he wanted to do the crazy stuff.