![David George - Building a16z Growth, Investing Across the AI Stack, and Why Markets Misprice Growth - [Invest Like the Best, EP.450]](https://image.scripod.com/https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/8da7dbd8-ceeb-11f0-941c-ef83bcdd4c9f/image/d44107bc94719f78fbe91befb141073e.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress)
David George - Building a16z Growth, Investing Across the AI Stack, and Why Markets Misprice Growth - [Invest Like the Best, EP.450]
David George - Building a16z Growth, Investing Across the AI Stack, and Why Markets Misprice Growth - [Invest Like the Best, EP.450]
David George - Building a16z Growth, Investing Across the AI Stack, and Why Markets Misprice Growth - [Invest Like the Best, EP.450]
In this conversation, David George, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, pulls back the curtain on the firm’s growth investing strategy during one of the most transformative technological eras in decades. With deep experience backing category-defining companies, he offers a clear-eyed view of how AI is reshaping industries, what kinds of founders succeed, and how investors can position themselves ahead of seismic market shifts.
David George outlines the strategic framework behind a16z's growth investing, emphasizing long-term relationship building, decentralized decision-making, and a 'Yankees-level' performance culture. He explains why AI represents a generational shift akin to mobile or cloud, with opportunities across the stack—from foundational models to applications. Despite skepticism around enterprise AI monetization, he sees immense potential in pull-driven businesses that grow through organic demand. Drawing from lessons with companies like Waymo and Figma, he highlights the importance of patience, technical depth in founders, and mispriced growth. Markets often underestimate exponential trajectories, allowing dominant players to capture nearly all value. His team evaluates AI startups using revenue growth, product-market fit, and usage scalability, favoring unique products that create their own distribution. Ultimately, startups can beat incumbents by reimagining interfaces, leveraging AI natively, and focusing on proactive, user-centric solutions that anticipate needs rather than respond to them.
05:40
05:40
The future of AI will shift from reactive to proactive interaction models.
10:18
10:18
90% of technological surplus goes to end-users, not companies
22:03
22:03
Most market cap creation goes to the market leader, not followers.
29:22
29:22
Winning deals at the growth stage relies on years of relationship building with founders.
31:53
31:53
Ben called off the Figma investment debate the same night, halting the decision process.
38:40
38:40
Investing allows me to be around great founders and learn about cutting-edge tech
42:30
42:30
a16z uses a single-trigger decision-making process to enable fast, transparent investment choices
47:00
47:00
Investing in high-growth companies is less risky than traditional investments due to market underestimation.
49:15
49:15
Pull companies like ChatGPT and Roblox grow because the market demands more, not because of aggressive sales.
55:05
55:05
After seeing strong results, a partner noted 'product fucking market fit'.
1:02:13
1:02:13
The future with AI will be proactive rather than reactive.
