--- title: a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs... description: Andreessen Horowitz is launching The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a one-year tuition-free program in San Francisco for high school graduates who haven't... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school | daily.dev og:description: Andreessen Horowitz is launching The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a one-year tuition-free program in San Francisco for high school graduates who haven't... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/88q0b9FmO.png og:image:alt: a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Andreessen Horowitz is launching The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a one-year tuition-free program in San Francisco for high school graduates who haven't attended college, aimed at aspiring founders. The first cohort accepts about 50 students chosen on proof of work, offering hands-on coursework, personal projects, and mentorship from 200 speakers including partners like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Coinbase, Stripe, Anduril, Palantir, and Replit. The school is not accredited and offers no degree or transferable credits. In 2028 it plans to expand to a two-year program charging tuition comparable to an elite private university. The $42 million for-profit venture is positioned as a middle ground between a college degree and dropping out to found a startup, drawing comparisons to Y Combinator and Peter Thiel's Fellowship. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is The Horowitz Andreessen Academy and who can apply? It is a school launched by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz for high school graduates who have not yet attended college. The first year is a one-year, tuition-free program in San Francisco open to about 50 students, selected based on proof of work such as what they have built, shipped, or earned. It is not accredited, so students do not earn a degree or transferable credits. _Founders and students weighing alternatives to college can follow how this academy model plays out via daily.dev._ ### Which companies are partnering with the Horowitz Andreessen Academy as founding corporate partners? Ten founding corporate partners are involved: Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit, and Stripe. Students gain access to 200 speakers and mentors, and these companies along with dozens of others hope to hire graduates directly from the program, according to CEO Gagan Biyani. _Track how major tech companies shape talent pipelines and hiring pathways through daily.dev._ ### Will the Horowitz Andreessen Academy be free forever or start charging tuition? Tuition is free for the first one-year cohort, but starting in 2028 the academy plans to offer a two-year program and charge tuition comparable in cost to an elite private university, according to CEO Gagan Biyani. The school is a for-profit venture that has raised $42 million. _Anyone evaluating alternative education paths in tech can keep up with tuition and program changes on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [How to get into a16z’s super-competitive Speedrun startup accelerator program](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-get-into-a16z-s-super-competitive-speedrun-startup-accelerator-program-rbckgcmv6) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [How to get into a16z’s super-competitive Speedrun startup accelerator program](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-get-into-a16z-s-super-competitive-speedrun-startup-accelerator-program-sf9dtn64o) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [This top VC bet close to 20% of his fund on teenagers — here’s why](https://daily.dev/posts/this-top-vc-bet-close-to-20-of-his-fund-on-teenagers-here-s-why-ybbq2wqls) · TechCrunch · 1 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#career](https://daily.dev/tags/career), [#venture-capital](https://daily.dev/tags/venture-capital) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo"},"datePublished":"2026-09-22T18:27:55.966Z","dateModified":"2026-09-22T19:08:49.223Z","description":"Andreessen Horowitz is launching The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a one-year tuition-free program in San Francisco for high school graduates who haven't...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ba235ee18ad3a1febeac131b21424785?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ba235ee18ad3a1febeac131b21424785?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"career,venture-capital","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/a16z-is-challenging-silicon-valley-s-love-for-drop-outs-by-launching-a-school-88q0b9fmo#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is The Horowitz Andreessen Academy and who can apply?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It is a school launched by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz for high school graduates who have not yet attended college. 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