Andreessen Horowitz is pausing its Talent x Opportunity fund and program, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The firm announced the initiative in 2020 to support founders who do not have access to traditional venture networks. Many of the program’s participants were women and minorities, groups that overall receive very small amounts of venture capital funding.
The fund was announced during a wave of support for underrepresented founders in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. It launched with 2.2 million dollars in initial commitments, with a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz and his wife Felicia matching up to an additional 5 million dollars.
The program provided founders with access to tech networks, a sixteen-week training program, and a 175,000 dollar investment through a donor-advised fund managed by the nonprofit Tides Foundation. It went on to support more than sixty companies, including the media brand Brown Girl Magazine, food tech Myles Comfort Foods, and the maternity tech company Villie.
The fund garnered some criticism at its launch because it was structured as a nonprofit rather than a traditional investment fund. Those contributing money were considered donors, and the funds were regarded as charitable donations instead of standard limited partner investments.
Despite this, founders in the program said it provided them with invaluable support and opportunities they otherwise would not have had. Last year, the program expanded to launch a grant program, providing 50,000 dollars to three tech nonprofits that support underserved founders. The program announced its most recent cohort in early March 2025.
Founders in the program received an email on October 16 from Kofi Ampadu, the partner at a16z who led the initiative, announcing the pause. The email stated that while the mission to support builders without access to typical Silicon Valley networks remains unchanged, the firm is pausing the existing program to refine its approach. The email detailed that over the past five years, the program had experimented with different models and would now apply those lessons by integrating its support into the firm’s broader early-stage investing strategy. It noted that the program had backed more than sixty companies and nearly one hundred founders, who have collectively raised tens of millions in follow-on capital.
Andreessen Horowitz confirmed the program is shutting down and that Ampadu alerted participants. Members of the TxO staff team, which included at least three people besides Ampadu, were also let go, with the end of October being their last week.
The fund’s application documents did not specifically call for founder diversity except in terms of cultural authenticity, emphasizing classic startup criteria like market size and execution ability. However, the original announcement made clear it was for entrepreneurs from underserved communities who did not have access to the fast track in life.
Many in the startup world perceived the program as an accelerator for diverse talent. Several people pointed out that its pause comes as other major tech companies eliminate, cut, or reframe prior public commitments related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Trump administration has threatened legal and political ramifications for businesses supporting anything that could be seen as DEI.
Others noted that Andreessen Horowitz remains interested in accelerator-type programs. Earlier this year, the firm launched Speedrun, a new program that promises cohort graduates up to one million dollars in investment.