American Dynamism and a16z | AI Manufacturing

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What Is American Dynamism?

American Dynamism is an investment theme created by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). It emphasises that venture-backed startups can solve some of the United States’ most pressing problems—such as defence, housing, public safety, education and manufacturing—better than traditional institutions. The roots of the idea date back to April 2020, when a16z co‑founder Marc Andreessen wrote an essay titled It’s Time to Build. In it he criticised the United States’ failure to invest in housing, manufacturing, energy, education and public health; he argued that the real problem is not money or know‑how but a lack of will, urging entrepreneurs to “build” critical infrastructure. This rallying cry provided the intellectual foundation for American Dynamism.

GovFreshAmerican Dynamism - GovFresh

American Dynamism - GovFresh

In April 2020, during the throes of COVID, Andreessen wrote that it’s time to build. This is foundational reading in understanding the spirit behind American Dynamism

The concept was formally introduced on 14 January 2022, when a16z general partner Katherine Boyle published the essay Building American Dynamism.

https://a16z.com/building-american-dynamism/#:~:text=companies that support the national,tackle these serious American problems

She wrote that the United States faces challenges—national security, public safety, housing and education—that can’t be solved through incremental improvements. Startups must tackle these serious problems, treating the government as a customer or partner . This article announced the American Dynamism initiative and signalled that a16z would build an investment practice focused on supporting the national interest.

Milestones

Date	Event	Details
Apr 2020	Marc Andreessen’s essay It’s Time to Build	The essay argued that the United States must restart its capacity to build housing, energy, manufacturing and more. Andreessen said the barriers are a failure of imagination and action .
14 Jan 2022	Building American Dynamism essay	Katherine Boyle defined American Dynamism and encouraged startups to solve the nation’s hardest problems . This marked the public launch of the practice.
9 May 2023	$500 million commitment	a16z announced that it had formalised the American Dynamism practice “a little more than a year” earlier and pledged more than US$500 million to back early‑stage companies building in this area . The commitment spans multiple a16z funds.
16 Apr 2024	$600 million dedicated fund	Ben Horowitz stated that a16z had raised US$7.2 billion across several strategies, including a US$600 million American Dynamism fund. He explained that each sub‑market—apps, games, infrastructure and American Dynamism—had become large enough to require its own dedicated investment team .
21 May 2024	American Dynamism Engineering Fellows Programme	Katherine Boyle, David Ulevitch and Erin Price‑Wright announced a 12‑month full‑time paid fellowship for early‑career engineers and researchers. Fellows learn venture‑capital skills, research frontier technology (e.g., AI‑driven simulation, hardware design with AI), support portfolio companies and attend technical conferences . The article noted that successful American Dynamism companies anticipate technological breakthroughs, recruit world‑class engineers and excel at fundraising .
5 Nov 2024	New general partners	a16z announced that Andy McCall and Brian Roberts joined as general partners supporting American Dynamism and the AI Apps fund. McCall built Meraki’s global sales organisation and later served as chief revenue officer at Samsara, helping it reach more than US$1 billion in annual recurring revenue before its 2021 IPO . Roberts previously served as chief financial officer at Lyft and Splunk and held leadership roles at Microsoft and Walmart .
11 Mar 2025	Podcast ‘From Thesis to Meme to Fund’	Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch discussed how the 2022 essay evolved into a US$600 million fund and a broad movement .
11 Aug 2025	Essay ‘Investing Capital to Defend the Nation’	David Ulevitch argued that onshoring manufacturing, scaling energy and deploying AI are national survival issues. He said investors, not government, must provide long‑term capital and noted that the American Dynamism practice has invested billions of dollars in defence, AI, biotech, manufacturing and energy .
Early 2025	Hiring of Daniel Penny (controversial)	TechCrunch and Fortune reported that a16z hired former Marine Daniel Penny as an investor. Penny had been involved in a 2023 New York subway altercation that led to a death and was later acquitted of criminally negligent homicide. TechCrunch noted he had no investment background and would be trained . Fortune cited an internal memo in which a16z said Penny’s whole career should be considered .

Who is in American Dynamism

David Ulevitch – general partner and leader of the practice. Ulevitch previously founded cybersecurity companies OpenDNS and EveryDNS, which Cisco acquired for US$635 million. He then served as senior vice‑president and general manager of Cisco’s US$2.4 billion security business . He holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and serves on several non‑profit boards .

Katherine Boyle – general partner and co‑founder of the practice. Boyle invests in aerospace, defence, manufacturing, energy and logistics. She previously co‑led the seed practice at General Catalyst, investing in companies such as Anduril and Vannevar Labs; before her investing career she was a reporter at The Washington Post. Boyle earned degrees in government from Georgetown University, an MBA from Stanford and a master’s from the National University of Ireland .

Erin Price‑Wright – general partner. Price‑Wright focuses on companies building AI for the physical world—robotics, energy, manufacturing, industrials and defence. She previously worked at Index Ventures and Palantir and holds a Master of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from Oxford and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Stanford .

Andy McCall – general partner (joined 2024). A veteran sales executive, McCall built cloud‑networking company Meraki’s global sales organisation and served as chief revenue officer at Samsara, guiding the company to IPO and scaling annual recurring revenue to over US$1 billion .

Brian Roberts – general partner (joined 2024). Roberts previously served as chief financial officer at Lyft and Splunk, helping to take both companies public, and held senior roles at Microsoft and Walmart .

Other investing partners

Ryan McEntush – an investing partner who previously worked at cybersecurity company Teleport, beginning in sales and later managing operations. He holds a degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and writes essays about lunar colonisation and industrial history on his blog Ryanomics .

Oliver Hsu – a partner who invests in frontier technologies and helps run the engineering fellowship. His website notes that he was an early employee and chief of staff at education startup Mos, worked on consumer credit products in fintech, served as a venture fellow at Susa Ventures and helped build developer ecosystems at Andela . He studied public and international affairs at Princeton and is a fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University .

Christian Keil – a partner and adviser. He is currently vice president of external relations at satellite builder Astranis. Keil joined Astranis in 2019 as its first chief of staff, scaling functions such as finance, recruiting and government relations; he previously worked as a consultant at Deloitte and holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and a B.S. from the University of Michigan .

Zabie Elmgren – an investing partner. She authors posts on team building and joined a16z after working at Index Ventures, where she served as early‑stage talent lead; an Index interview describes her as “our Early Stage Talent Lead” . Her a16z author page identifies her as a partner on the American Dynamism investing team .

Will Bitsky – an investing partner supporting the American Dynamism practice . Public information on his background is scarce, but he writes for the a16z American Dynamism blog.

Be part of that?

Engineering Fellows Programme – a16z runs a 12‑month paid fellowship for early‑career engineers and researchers. Fellows learn to invest, research emerging technologies (such as neural‑network‑powered simulation and AI‑assisted hardware design), assist portfolio companies and attend technical conferences . The programme is aimed at people who have both hardware and software expertise and want to learn how to bring frontier technology into industries like manufacturing, energy and defence. The call for applications emphasises that great American Dynamism companies anticipate technology breakthroughs, recruit world‑class engineers and push boundaries .

Start a company in critical sectors – a16z invests in early‑stage and growth companies across aerospace, defence, education, housing, public safety, logistics, energy, manufacturing and other “hard” industries . Founders should view the government as a customer, competitor or key stakeholder and build mission‑driven companies that advance the national interest .

What more

American Dynamism is more than a branding exercise: it is a call for entrepreneurs and investors to tackle the United States’ toughest challenges with breakthrough technology and risk capital. It began as a 2020 manifesto and became a formal investment practice in 2022. Since then, a16z has committed hundreds of millions of dollars and built a dedicated team of partners with backgrounds in cybersecurity, media, defence technology, fintech and operations. The initiative aims to reinvigorate America’s industrial and technological base by backing founders who see national interests as their market and are willing to build at the intersection of policy, hardtech and venture capital.