Key facts
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) believes international founders have an advantage in the current AI market.
- 44% of a16z's investments in Apps Fund One and Two have international founders.
- The firm's Borderless Founder network supports immigrant and international entrepreneurs.
- Global enterprise adoption of AI solutions has increased significantly in the past three to five years.
- International founders can leverage talent pools outside the U.S., facing less competition from major AI firms.
- a16z is actively seeking international deal flow, with partners traveling extensively.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has identified a growing advantage for international founders in the artificial intelligence sector, challenging the traditional Silicon Valley-centric model. Gabriel Vasquez, an a16z partner specializing in AI applications and global investments, stated that 44% of the firm's investments in its Apps Fund One and Two have an international founder.
Vasquez, along with General Partner Angela Strange, spearheads a16z's Borderless Founder network, an initiative aimed at supporting immigrant and international entrepreneurs. They posit that while great companies have always emerged globally, foreign entrepreneurs now possess a distinct edge over their American counterparts, particularly in the current AI-driven market cycle. This advantage stems from the increased global adoption of AI solutions by enterprises and the ability of international founders to tap into talent pools outside the U.S., where competition from heavily funded AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI is less intense.
The firm's commitment to this global strategy is evident in Vasquez's extensive travel, with a16z spending over one million air miles annually to pursue international deal flow. This approach contrasts with the previous expectation that all promising startups would relocate to the U.S. The shift in enterprise buying patterns, particularly outside the U.S., has been dramatic over the last three to five years. Previously, companies in regions with affordable labor might not have prioritized software adoption, but the pervasive and increasingly accurate nature of AI agents has made them indispensable across various functions, such as customer service.
This global appetite for AI solutions creates opportunities for local founders to serve their domestic markets, even as U.S. startups focus on their home base. Vasquez noted that the concept of a company headquarters is becoming more fluid, allowing founders to split their time between their home country and the U.S. The success of companies like ElevenLabs, a voice AI startup with Polish founders and a subsidiary in Poland, highlights this trend. The firm's focus on international talent is also reflected in the observation that European talent remains a significant advantage for U.S. startups, with many top AI scaleups originating from European academic spinouts.