Andreessen Horowitz will soon cease to be a venture capital firm, veering away from the majority of its Sand Hill Road neighbors in Silicon Valley to instead become a registered investment advisor, or RIA.
Venture capital firms are limited in their ability to invest outside of the traditional start-up landscape, a market that's become inundated with record amounts of cash, thanks to massive funds like SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund.
Last year the firm raised its first crypto fund, with $300 million in capital committed. Wennmachers said that during the process of setting up that fund, Andreessen decided to register as an RIA. The change should become official this month, she said, after the 45-day processing period for the Securities and Exchange Commission.