Andreessen Horowitz American Dynamism

Andreessen Horowitz American Dynamism

Invests in defense, aerospace, manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure companies supporting national interests.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2009, managing more than USD 100 billion in assets across seed, venture, and growth-stage technology investments as of April 2026. The American Dynamism practice is a dedicated investment focus area within a16z targeting companies that support the national interest of the United States — spanning defense, aerospace and space, advanced manufacturing, energy, and AI infrastructure. It is an equity investment practice, not a grant program: a16z is a registered investment adviser deploying capital through pooled investment vehicles on behalf of accredited investors.

The firm invests from TRL 3 through TRL 9, with typical check sizes ranging from USD 1 million at seed to USD 100 million or more at growth stage for American Dynamism-relevant companies. Eligibility is effectively limited to for-profit entities; the fund does not invest in nonprofits. In 2023, a16z operated two batches of an Open Source AI Grant program — the only publicly documented pure grant mechanism in the firm's history — providing non-dilutive funding to individual open-source AI developers and small research teams working on instruction-tuning, model optimization, and LLM tooling. No subsequent batch has been announced as of mid-2026.

For founders building in defense, manufacturing, space, or energy infrastructure, the American Dynamism practice represents one of the most active and visible pools of venture capital in those sectors. The Speedrun accelerator program (investing up to USD 1 million per startup, SR007 running July–October 2026 in San Francisco) provides a structured entry point for early-stage companies across a16z's broader portfolio. Engagement is through direct outreach or cohort applications; there are no competitive grant cycles or publicly posted application deadlines for the American Dynamism practice itself.