15 million shares... That's how much stock venture capital legend Andreessen Horowitz owned in Lyft before the IPO. Now the decade-old VC's raised $2B in cash for a unique fund to find Lyft #2. And #3. And #50. And they like using big terms to do it.
- Their first fund wanted to invest in "megalomaniacal founders".
- Then they created the concept of "software eating the world".
- And the "a16z" nickname is a coding thing — starts with an "a," ends with a "z," and has 16 letters in between (we didn't get it, either).
Cue the makeover montage... Early stage venture investing not enough? Transform into a "Registered Investment Adviser." That's what a16z is doing. RIA life comes with extra regulatory rules — But it gives a16z freedom to drop money into more crypto and regular old public stocks, too. Other VCs will just watch (or follow).
a16z breeds unicorns... Since starting the fund in 2009, it's invested in Instagram, Buzzfeed, Dollar Shave Club, Skype, and Soylent. And in 2019, its shares in Slack, Lyft, Pinterest, and Airbnb will probably (or have already) become publicly traded. This portfolio page is really a humble-brag trophy case.