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Andreessen Horowitz Opens AI-Focused Academy as College Alternative

The tuition-free founding fellowship trains builders with project work and industry ties while the organization seeks accreditation for a tuitioned two-year program in Fall 2028.

Overview

  • The Horowitz Andreessen Academy launched publicly on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, and is now accepting applications for a tuition-free Founding Class Fellowship that will begin in Fall 2027.
  • Andreessen Horowitz and other investors seeded the academy with $42 million and organized it as a separate for-profit company run by Gagan Biyani with Marc Andreessen and Erik Torenberg on the board.
  • The one-year Founding Class will be limited to about 50 students, require San Francisco residency, provide each fellow more than $50,000 in compute credits plus a $5,000 travel and research budget, and will not grant degrees or college credit.
  • Ten major tech firms are named as founding partners offering compute, mentorship and curriculum help, but partner commitments to hire students or guarantee paid co-ops vary and are not assured.
  • The academy plans to apply for regulatory approval to offer a two-year accredited, tuitioned program in Fall 2028, a move that would expose it to accreditation scrutiny, questions about scalability, and competition with federally aided colleges.