The a16z Show
a16z
13 episodes
Scott Kupor on Building a16z and Rebuilding the Federal Workforce
9 Nov · 57 min
- Scott Kupor was a16z's first employee and helped build its CAA-inspired services model and open-for-business marketing in 2009.
- At OPM, Kupor caps top ratings at 40%, eliminates time-in-grade, and launches Tech Force to hire 1,000 engineers.
The Health Interventions Actually Worth Your Time | Justin Mares
8 Nov · 26 min
- Truemed's Justin Mares says qualified people can use HSA and FSA dollars on prevention like gym memberships and sleep tech with a doctor's note.
- He says the highest-leverage health interventions are improving food sourcing and minimizing toxin exposure.
Mark Hyman’s Guide to Living Longer and Staying Strong
7 Nov · 31 min
- Mark Hyman says longevity is built through small daily habits, not heroic interventions like a seven-day water fast.
- Hyman calls muscle the currency of longevity and says whey and creatine only work alongside strength training.
Inside Salesforce’s $100 Billion M&A Playbook | John Somorjai
6 Nov · 49 min
- Somorjai is skeptical of AI-native CRMs like Lightfield and Monaco, saying too much funding chases the category.
- He predicts a venture reckoning, calling valuations unsustainable with 1% or fewer companies going public.
The New CFO: How AI Is Rewriting the Finance Function | Figma CFO Praveer Melwani
5 Nov · 51 min
- Figma CFO Praveer Melwani says AI turns finance from "traffic cop" to business enabler, automating collections and reconciling data in minutes.
- Figma's corp dev team runs investment memos past AI personalities modeled on its leaders to cut review time.
The New AI Agents That Shop, Plan, and Gossip
4 Nov · 51 min
- David Pawlan has reviewed 147 AI assistants, sorting them into general, work, multiplayer and travel, with finance missing.
- Trust is the top fear among AI power users at 22%, after an agent exposed Shane Mac's finances in his company Slack.
Andrew Huberman’s Three Rules for Better Health and Focus
3 Nov · 49 min
- Huberman says his top three health rules are morning bright light, resistance training, and maximizing sleep.
- He advises founders to protect two peak work windows (9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and about 4:30 to 7 PM).
The Robots Already Working in American Factories | Tutor Intelligence
2 Nov · 46 min
- Tutor Intelligence's robots have helped manufacture and ship over a quarter of a billion products to American consumers.
- Josh Gruenstein pitches factories a robot for $16 an hour, with contracts signed in 40 to 60 days and no customer capex.
How Bending Spoons Built a $20 Billion Compounder | Luca Ferrari
1 Nov · 44 min
- Bending Spoons buys software companies, integrates them on one platform, and runs them on a ten-year horizon to fund bigger deals.
- Ferrari says AI wrote 94% of Bending Spoons' code, up from zero two years earlier, and no good company should be below 70%.
Can AI Fix Professional Networking? | Inside Cosign
31 Oct · 25 min
- Cosign, a16z New Media's vouching-based professional network, is launching alongside the Cosign Awards, which have drawn 135 nominations so far.
- Dhruv Gupta argues vouching beats cold applications on LinkedIn and Handshake, positioning Cosign as the source of truth for the startup ecosystem.
Why AI Could Turn Small Law Firms Into Billion-Dollar Businesses
30 Oct · 53 min
- Jay Madheswaran, CEO of Eve, says plaintiff lawyers reject many small claims because a case must earn at least $5,000 in fees to be worth taking.
- Jay Madheswaran says Eve lets some attorneys manage five times as many cases, and a Los Angeles firm grew from about 100 clients per attorney to 500.
The Startups Rebuilding American Industry | The AD50
29 Oct · 50 min
- Erin Price-Wright says the hollowing out of American industry has real consequences on the battlefield for soldiers and allies.
- Erin Price-Wright says owning a process end to end and using software at every stage captures data that feeds back into production.
ElevenLabs CEO: Why Voice is the Next AI Interface
5 Nov 2025 · 31 min
- ElevenLabs runs about 20 product teams of five to 10 people, trading some duplicated work for high ownership and speed, CEO Mati Staniszewski says.
- ElevenLabs resisted a voice speed slider for about nine months to avoid becoming like earlier editing suites, then solved speed control in research.