Andreessen Horowitz is investing $35 million in the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, founded by Udemy co-founder Gagan Biyani. The school plans a free, one-year program for about 50 students in fall 2027, centered on projects and company placements rather than grades. It is unaccredited; a two-year program with elite-university-level tuition is planned for 2028, subject to regulatory approval.
Sources
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/09/22/billionaire-venture-capital-firm-launches-2-year-college-alternative/
“The big difference between going to the academy and going to college is we are not gonna prioritize your grades,” Biyani said. “We’re gonna prioritize proof of work.”
http://web.archive.org/web/20261103041852/https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisachambers/2026/09/24/udemy-cofounder-pivots-to-in-person-learning-with-new-academy-for-ai-phenoms/
Founded by Biyani, the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, or HAA, is an unaccredited alternative to college being incubated by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z), which is investing $35 million to launch it. The academy, based in San Francisco, expects to enroll about 50 students in a tuition-free, one-year founding class in fall 2027, then expand to a two-year program in 2028, when tuition is expected to be comparable to that of elite private universities. HAA is seeking approval to operate from California’s Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the state agency that oversees private postsecondary schools. It won’t award college degrees or credit.
https://qz.com/andreessen-horowitz-horowitz-andreessen-academy-ai-school-092326
Andreessen Horowitz announced Tuesday the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a tuition-free, in-person school in San Francisco aimed at recent high school graduates who want to build technology products and companies in the AI era.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/horowitz-andreessen-academy-college-alternative-f9f3ac2e?st=nfQmV8&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The storied venture-capital firm is investing $35 million in an unaccredited San Francisco-based two-year alternative to traditional college for students ages 16 to 22. Though named the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, the school will operate as an independent business led by Gagan Biyani, co-founder of the ed-tech platform Udemy.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/horowitz-andreessen-academy-college-alternative-f9f3ac2e
The storied venture-capital firm is investing $35 million in an unaccredited San Francisco-based two-year alternative to traditional college for students ages 16 to 22. Though named the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, the school will operate as an independent business led by Gagan Biyani, co-founder of the ed-tech platform Udemy.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/22/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valleys-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school/
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is launching a school called The Horowitz Andreessen Academy aimed at aspiring founders who have just graduated high school and have not yet attended college.
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/998813/andreessen-horowitz-ai-academy
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is creating an “academy” positioned as a pipeline for young people to build or join a Silicon Valley startup. The “Horowitz Andreessen Academy” will launch with 10 partners, including Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit, and Stripe, along with $42 million in funding led by a16z. While billed as a “highly selective school,” it does not grant any degree or accreditation. Instead, students will attend short classes led by tech figureheads, like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as well as “co-ops” that give students roles at tech companies.