Andreessen Horowitz has closed a new fund it calls Machine Age, raising EUR 1 billion to invest in the physical infrastructure behind artificial intelligence. The venture capital firm, widely known as a16z, says the goal is to “open the throttle and accelerate the physical buildout of AI.”
The move marks a notable shift for the firm, which has traditionally centered its bets on the scaling power of software. With this fund, a16z is instead directing capital toward hardware and the systems that make large-scale AI possible.
What the Machine Age Fund Will Back
According to a post published on the firm’s website, the EUR 1 billion fund targets the infrastructure that powers modern AI. That spans a broad range of technology, from computer chips and memory to data centers and robots.
The firm laid out the specific gaps it wants to help close. “We need faster, more efficient systems. We need cheaper and higher-bandwidth memory across the memory hierarchy. We need faster and more scalable interconnects between nodes and systems. We need power efficient edge devices for AI to explore and interact with the world. And of course we need all the cooling, materials, electrical, and real estate build out to support them,” the post reads.
A Bet on Physical AI Infrastructure
The strategy reflects growing attention across the tech industry to the physical demands of running advanced AI systems at scale. Beyond the algorithms and models, AI requires enormous amounts of computing power, memory bandwidth, energy, and cooling, along with the real estate and electrical capacity to house it all.
By focusing on these underlying components and facilities, a16z is positioning the fund to support the buildout of everything from silicon to the data centers that keep it running. The firm describes AI as the “strongest tool ever developed for solving problems and bestowing abundance,” and frames its continued advancement as a “social and national imperative.”
Why the Fund Matters
For a firm that built its reputation on software investing, the creation of a dedicated hardware-focused vehicle signals a broader recognition that AI progress is increasingly constrained by physical limits. Memory costs, interconnect speeds, power efficiency, and data center capacity have all become central concerns as demand for AI computing surges.
The EUR 1 billion commitment gives a16z significant firepower to invest across this stack, spanning chips, memory, interconnects, edge devices, robotics, and the supporting materials and real estate. The Machine Age fund reflects a wager that the next phase of AI growth will be defined as much by hardware and infrastructure as by software breakthroughs.
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Image: techcrunch.com
