A16z launches $1.1B Machine Age Fund betting that AI’s real bottleneck is hardware

Andreessen Horowitz announced its Machine Age Fund on August 28, targeting the physical layer of AI infrastructure: chips, memory, networking, power systems, and the software that ties it all together.

What the fund actually covers

The $1.1 billion will flow into companies building advanced semiconductor designs, next-generation memory modules, networking solutions for data centers, systems software, and power infrastructure. The fund also targets what a16z describes as machines and systems that enable AI to interact with the physical world.

Ben Horowitz, the firm’s co-founder, is leading the effort alongside partners Martin Casado and Raghu Raghuram. David Ulevitch and David George round out the leadership team. Casado founded Nicira before its multi-billion-dollar sale to VMware. Raghuram is the former CEO of VMware.

A16z’s expanding AI infrastructure commitment

A16z previously committed $1.25 billion through an earlier vehicle focused on AI infrastructure. In January 2026, the firm conducted a fundraising round that brought in over $15 billion across multiple strategies, with $1.7 billion specifically earmarked for infrastructure investments. The Machine Age Fund layers on top of those prior commitments.

Why hardware is the choke point

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) has been in tight supply, with manufacturers like SK Hynix and Samsung struggling to scale production fast enough. Data center power consumption has surged globally, and in some regions, new data center construction has been delayed or denied due to insufficient power availability.

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