Andreessen Horowitz

Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz has announced its intent to begin lobbying the U.S. government, and their plan is as tone-deaf and obtuse as this summer’s dreadful “Techno-Optimist Manifesto.” Essentially, they will give to anyone — literally anyone — who “supports an optimistic technology-enabled future.” This is what’s called being a single-issue voter, and while co-founder Ben Horowitz (who penned the blog post) seems to think announcing themselves as such gives their lobbying a child-like purity, it’s…

An artificial intelligence startup targeting air travel has raised $34 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz to more aggressively pursue deals with the Department of Defense.Air Space Intelligence Inc. has long sold its tools — which have been described as Waze for air travel — to commercial carriers including Alaska Airlines. The startup's marquee product, called Flyways, can help flight dispatchers pick routes for planes, taking into account factors like flight traffic, weather and airport conditions.…

Photo: Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg (Getty Images)Every tech company in Silicon Valley is currently rushing to release an AI chatbot, so it makes sense that Elon Musk would release his own. Therefore, we now have Grok, a profane little bot from Musk’s xAI startup, that distinguishes itself mostly by saying what others won’t (Musk has dubbed it the “anti-woke” alternative to other, more polite large language models). That seems pretty on brand for Elon, who once referred to himself as a “free speech absolutist” and has…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s sci-fi-tinged, iris-scanning cryptocurrency project Worldcoin began rolling out services internationally today. The extent to which Worldcoin actually delivers on its promise of a “new global digital currency,” however, may vary dramatically depending on where users are located.ChatGPT’s Creator Buddies Up to Congress | Future TechOn Monday, Worldcoin announced it has officially begun rolling out its “World ID” decentralized identity protocol and its “WLD” cryptocurrency tokens. In the 35 cities…

The best advice you can get when buying bitcoin or investing in crypto (other than, you know, “don’t”) is the same advice you get when going to a casino: never bet more than you’re willing to lose. Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technical officer of Coinbase, must have been more than willing to part ways with fat stacks after he gave up on hopes bitcoin would ever reach prices equal to $1 million.Crypto Exchanges Restrict Withdrawals“I’m not a trader, I’m not John McAfee, and I’m not in the bait of publicly burning a…

The banner hung above the New York Stock Exchange back in 2013 when the company first went public. Now that the company is private again, there’s quite a few ex-stock holders who are hoping to see a return on their investment in Elon Musk.Photo: Christopher Penler (Shutterstock)While Elon Musk’s massive $44 billion buyout of Twitter might seem like a one-man show, it’s really a kind of Suicide Squad of big tech moguls and financiers coming together in a strange rogue’s gallery reunion. Not only were Musk’s personal rich…

Adam Neumann, the man of WeWork infamy, is getting back into the real estate game—this time to “disrupt” the residential market. The billionaire is starting up a new company aimed at somehow addressing and capitalizing on the U.S. housing crisis (though current details are scant.)Whatever the actual idea is though, the start up, called “Flow,” has already proved enticing enough to attract one of Silicon Valley’s biggest investors. Andreessen Horowitz—the same kingmaker venture capital firm that was early to bank on…

Venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is investing in Flow, a real-estate startup led by former WeWork executive and co-founder Adam Neumann. The firm, known as a16z, is investing $350 million in Flow at a valuation above $1 billion, said a person familiar with the matter, making it one of the largest-ever investments for an early-stage startup. Flow was founded earlier this year. Co-founder Marc Andreessen said in a blog post that Flow would seek to address…

Gif: Gizmodo/Internet ArchiveGizmodo is 20 years old! To celebrate the anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant ways our lives have been thrown for a loop by our digital tools.In the early aughts, my wheezing dialup connection often operated as if it were perpetually out of breath. Thus, unlike my childhood friends, it was near to impossible for me to watch videos, TV shows, or listen to music. Far from feeling limited, I felt like I was lucky, for I had access to an encyclopedia of lovingly curated…

Quantum computer maker Rigetti said on Wednesday it will go public through a merger with a blank-cheque firm in a deal that potentially values the combined company at $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 11,240 crores).This is the second quantum computer hardware maker to announce going public this year using a blank-cheque, or special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Maryland-based IonQ listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. SPACs are shell companies that raise funds through an initial public offering to acquire a…