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Chris Dixon
Chris Dixon is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is a Founder and Managing Partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). He is also the author of the book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet, released in January 2024. Dixon frequently shares his insights on crypto, blockchain, and NFTs on X, where the account has approximately 958,000 followers.[15][2][3]
Early Life and Education
Chris grew up in Ohio. He earned a BA and an MA from Columbia University, majoring in Philosophy, and also has an MBA from Harvard University.[2]
Career
Business
Chris started programming as a kid, starting on a TRS-80 Model 1, and was a professional programmer after college at the high-speed options trading firm, Arbitrade. In 2003, he joined the venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners and 2 years later, he left to start his own company SiteAdvisor, a web-security startup that was bought by security company McAfee in 2006.[4]
In 2009, he founded Hunch with Caterina Fake and Tom Pinckney, which was acquired by eBay in 2011. [2][4]
He also co-founded Founder Collective in 2009, a seed-stage venture capital fund, and he made personal investments in BuzzFeed, Makerbot, Betaworks, Uber, Venmo, Pinterest, Kickstarter, etc.[5]
Andreessen Horowitz
Chris Dixon was welcomed into Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in November 2012 as a General Partner. Founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, a16z is a venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California.[5]
“At most V.C. firms, they have general partners and the bulk of the operating budget goes to their salary,” he said. “But here, the strategy is to have seven general partners and 55 other people whose sole focus is to help entrepreneurs on everything from market development to gaining users, a talent team for recruiting, research and marketing. These are real operations and look like little companies within the bigger company.” - Chris Dixon said when hired[5]
After joining the firm, Chris led a variety of investments for the firm including FiftyThree,[6] Soylent,[7] and Nootrobox and he sits on the boards of drone startup Airware, 3D printing startup Shapeways, and digital Bitcoin wallet, Coinbase. Dixon also led the firm’s investment and sits on the board of Oculus VR, which was acquired by Facebook in March 2014.[8]
In 2018, Chris founded and leads the section of a16z called 'a16z crypto', which invests in web3 technologies through four dedicated funds with more than $7 billion under management.[3]
In 2022, Fortune called Chris "the world's top crypto investor." He also relaunched an accelerator for crypto startups called Crypto Startup School.[9][10][14]
On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission named Dixon to its Innovation Advisory Committee. The committee’s current roster lists him as representing a16z crypto as Managing Partner. The committee advises the Commission on the impact and implications of technological innovation in financial markets and the U.S. economy, including blockchain and artificial intelligence.[16][17]
Read Write Own
In January 2024, Chris Dixon released his book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet.[12]
"Yes, it’s about crypto web3 – but also internet history, networks, and the future of the internet. It answers a common question I hear: “What problems do blockchain solve?”
I explain why crypto/web3 is the only plausible path to sustaining the original vision of the internet as an open platform that incentivizes creativity & entrepreneurship.
I tackle controversial topics like policy/regulatory, and the harmful “casino” culture that has developed around crypto.
This book is for anyone interested in business, tech, & innovation. I wrote it to be succinct, thorough, & accessible to a wide range of audiences without watering it down. It also distills cutting-edge thinking from technologists and founders to make it useful to practitioners." - Dixon wrote in a Linkedin post[11]
a16z Frontier rebrand from a16z Crypto
On October 22, 2026, Chris Dixon announced the rebranding of a16z Crypto to a16z Frontier, expanding the investment division's focus beyond cryptocurrency and blockchain startups to emerging technologies and companies developing new markets. [17]
In his announcement, Dixon explained that the expansion reflects the increasing adoption of blockchain technology across mainstream financial services and other industries. He noted that distinguishing companies solely by their underlying technology has become less relevant as blockchain infrastructure becomes integrated into broader products and services. Despite the rebranding, a16z Frontier will continue investing in crypto-related ventures and advocating for cryptocurrency regulation.
Dixon also outlined the investment philosophy behind the change, drawing on his experience at a16z since 2013. His earlier focus on emerging computing technologies and blockchain contributed to investments in companies such as Oculus, Coinbase, Solana, and Uniswap. Under a16z Frontier, he plans to extend this long-term approach to artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, robotics, new computing devices, and other technologies that could create entirely new products and markets.
A central theme of Dixon's announcement was the potential convergence of AI and blockchain technology.
He highlighted the development of networks connecting autonomous AI agents, with blockchain infrastructure potentially enabling programmable payments, machine-to-machine transactions, and new economic models. He also identified stablecoins as an increasingly important component of global financial infrastructure.
Dixon confirmed that he would lead a16z Frontier alongside a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and general partners Eddy Lazzarin and Guy Wuollet. The division will continue supporting its existing portfolio while pursuing investments across a wider range of emerging technologies. [17]
Social Media Presence
On X (formerly Twitter), Chris uses the handle and has approximately 958,000 followers. Chris’s blog also consists of various articles on entrepreneurship, business, crypto, etc.[15][13]
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