a16z grew in tech and crypto with $7.2 billion in revenue.

Venture capital (VC) giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced a massive $7.2 billion funding round on April 16, 2024.

The fund will strategically target several key sectors, including American Dynamism ($600 million), Apps ($1 billion), Games ($600 million), Infrastructure ($1.25 billion) and Growth ($3.75 billion).

a16z focuses on gaming as the crypto sector springs back to life

Co-founder Ben Horowitz called the increase an “important milestone” in a blog post titled “New Funds, New Era.”

Reflecting on the company's journey and future aspirations, Horowitz said: It highlights how dramatically the venture capital sector has expanded since a16z was founded in 2009.

He emphasized the importance of specialists in areas such as gaming and infrastructure to support founders.

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“A great investor with the right help, the right network and the right knowledge can be the difference between success and failure,” says Horowitz.

Echoing Horowitz's enthusiasm, a16z general partner Anjeni Midha took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal that the company has $1.25 billion in fresh capital to invest in future AI infrastructure.

Similarly, general partner Martin Casado conveys his passion for infrastructure as “the value base of technology.” It also confirms a16z's deep commitment to the sector.

In addition to the broader focus, general partner Andrew Chen announced a16z Games Fund Two. The new fund will build on its predecessor in 2022 and will target investments at various stages of game development. This includes supporting early-stage startups through the SPEEDRUN accelerator program, where each selected company receives $750,000 in funding.

Chen highlighted the transformative potential of new technologies such as generative AI in the gaming industry. The a16z Games team is expanding, attracting talent from industry leaders like Blizzard, Twitch and Riot.

The company's latest fundraising coincides with a renewed surge in investor interest in the crypto industry. According to Pitchbook data, VC investments in crypto startups reached $2.5 billion during the first quarter of 2024. The number is a 32 percent increase from the previous quarter and roughly the same period last year.

Robert Le, a crypto analyst at Pitchbook, attributes this renewed enthusiasm in part to the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January. Furthermore, Le cited the interest between crypto communication and artificial intelligence as one of the drivers.

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After hesitating to use the funds raised during the previous crypto bull market, VCs seem to be changing course in 2024. This suggests that renewed interest and a broader crypto market recovery could be an incentive for VCs to increase their investments in the industry.