The Pulse
Andreessen Horowitz Opens a Tuition-Free AI Academy in San Francisco
Andreessen Horowitz is backing the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a San Francisco program for young builders entering technology after high school. The tuition-free founding fellowship begins in fall 2027 and will pair AI-focused coursework w
AI.info Team ·
Andreessen Horowitz is backing a new San Francisco school that treats startup projects, company placements and AI systems work as the main curriculum. The Horowitz Andreessen Academy opens applications for a tuition-free founding fellowship on September 22, with the first class scheduled to begin in fall 2027.
The program targets ambitious students coming out of high school, along with some applicants who have spent one or two years at a university. Its first cohort will include approximately 50 students for a one-year fellowship, according to the academy's launch announcement. A separate two-year program is planned for fall 2028, pending regulatory approval, and would charge tuition comparable to an elite private university.
“There's no better moment than now, with AI moving this fast, to launch the Academy,” Gagan Biyani, the academy's founder and chief executive, said in the announcement. Biyani previously co-founded Udemy and Maven.
From a16z Incubation to a Separate School
Andreessen Horowitz, commonly known as a16z, incubated the academy and is leading a $42 million funding round with individual investors. The academy is a separate for-profit company rather than a new investment fund or an a16z training program. Marc Andreessen and Erik Torenberg will join Biyani on its board.
The launch places the venture firm's network at the center of the school's pitch. Founding partners include Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit and Stripe. The companies are expected to contribute software, hardware, computing access, curriculum advice and hands-on learning opportunities.
More than 40 additional companies have signed on as hiring partners, including Applied Intuition, Base Power Company, Cognition, Databricks, Notion and Shopify. The academy says those partners will consider students and graduates for internships, co-ops and full-time roles.
A College Alternative Built Around Projects
The academy rejects the standard package of grades, tests and homework. Its educational model centers on three activities: “Pursuits,” short courses and co-ops. Pursuits are student-selected projects that can include a startup idea, independent research, a technical build or an extended investigation.
Courses will run from two days to four weeks and will be taught by founders, executives and other practitioners. The published course examples include Designing AI Systems, Founder-Led Sales, Go-to-Market for B2B, Storytelling and New Media, Leading High Ownership Cultures, and Startup Mechanics covering company formation, cap tables, finance and fundraising.
The academy's own description places AI work alongside broader operating skills. Its curriculum also includes Frontier Systems, AI Inference Engineering, The Modern Software Developer and a history of digital computing from 1940 through 2025. Students are expected to spend most of their time building products, working with companies or developing their own projects.
OpenAI, Anthropic and NVIDIA Join the Founding Group
The partner list gives the school unusual access to companies shaping the current AI market. Anthropic and OpenAI can provide exposure to model development and software tools, while NVIDIA is listed among the companies supporting the academy's technical resources. The academy has not published a detailed schedule showing which partner will provide which course or placement.
Named instructors and guest speakers include OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Figma chief executive Dylan Field, World Labs co-founder Fei-Fei Li, AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant and Palo Alto Networks chief executive Nikesh Arora. The launch materials describe a much larger group of speakers and mentors who will visit the San Francisco campus.
Each founding fellow will receive more than $50,000 in computing credits and technology resources, plus a $5,000 budget for travel and exploration. Those benefits are separate from the tuition-free status of the inaugural fellowship.
San Francisco as the Classroom
The academy is explicitly residential and in person. Its founders argue that proximity to startup operators, investors and technical talent is part of the education, not a side benefit. Students may work at partner companies during the academic year rather than limiting workplace experience to a summer internship.
Applications are open for the founding fellowship, which will begin in September 2027. Priority will go to graduating high school seniors, but the academy also plans to consider international applicants, current university students and people using the program as a gap year or college deferral.
The venture makes a direct bet that some young builders will prefer an intensive technology and startup program to a conventional four-year degree. Its first test will be whether a small, highly connected cohort can turn access to AI tools, company mentors and Silicon Valley networks into businesses that justify the model.