The a16z Show

Filtered episodes(18)

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  What Makes a Consumer AI Product Stick? | Josh Elman

  Published Sep 19, 2026

  Josh Elman

  a16z Partner Josh Elman joins Ollie Forsyth on New Economies to discuss the next wave of consumer AI and what separates a product people try once from one that becomes part of their everyday lives.Josh argues that getting attention has actually become easier, but getting consumers to stick is harder than ever. He explains what he looks for in consumer products, why the best ones start with a narrow wedge and earn the right to do more, and why trust becomes increasingly important as AI agents gai

  agents
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  The $100B Niches Hiding Inside Payments

  Published Sep 3, 2026

  Erik Torenberg is joined by a16z General Partner Alex Rampell and Affirm Co-Founder and CEO Max Levchin for a conversation on 25 years of fintech, from the early days of digital payments to the origins of Affirm and the next generation of agentic commerce.Max and Alex revisit what surprised them most about how payments evolved, why the card interface has been so difficult to displace, and why even the smallest corners of payments can become enormous markets. They also trace the early idea maze b

  agents
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  Why 1,200 AI Agents Started Working Together | Ryan Greenblatt

  Published Aug 29, 2026

  Ryan Greenblatt

  Ryan Greenblatt, Chief Scientist at Redwood Research, joins MTS host Theo Jaffee to unpack a new independent investigation into the OpenAI Hugging Face hacking incident and what it reveals about how large groups of AI agents behave when they're allowed to coordinate. Ryan and his collaborators found agents spontaneously organizing through message boards, sharing information, assigning tasks, forming teams, and even sacrificing their own chances of success to help other agents. Rather than simply

  openaiagents
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  How Microsoft Is Securing the Agentic Enterprise | Aaron Zollman

  Published Aug 21, 2026

  Aaron Zollman

  a16z's Joel De La Garza is joined by Aaron Zollman, Deputy CISO at Microsoft Gaming, to discuss how security teams can embrace AI agents without losing control. Aaron shares Microsoft's experience with OpenClaw, from the initial instinct to ban it to figuring out how to make it safe to use. They unpack what agents mean for identity, permissions, containerization, and monitoring, as well as how AI is shifting the CISO's role from saying "no" to safely enabling new technology. They also explore wh

  agentsai-regulation
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  How Do You Defend Against AI That Can Hack?

  Published Aug 18, 2026

  a16z's Joel De La Garza is joined by Nick Warner of Neo and Max Pollard of Cotool to discuss what happens when cybersecurity tools built to defend against humans and malware suddenly have to contend with AI agents. As frontier models become more capable of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities, many of the assumptions underlying traditional security are beginning to break. They explore why guardrails designed to stop AI-powered attackers can also prevent security teams from doing their jobs, wh

  agentsai-regulation
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  The CISO Playbook for AI Agents | Datadog

  Published Aug 11, 2026

  a16z's Joel De La Garza is joined by Emilio Escobar, Chief Information Security Officer at Datadog, to discuss what it takes to secure a company where nearly every employee is using AI and more than 4,000 engineers are working with coding agents. Rather than trying to block new tools, Emilio explains why Datadog chose to embrace AI early and build the security infrastructure needed to use it safely. They unpack how AI changes traditional assumptions around data permissions, credentials, develope

  agentsai-regulation
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  How Kavak Rebuilt Itself Around AI Agents | Alejandro Maza Ayala

  Published Aug 10, 2026

  Alejandro Maza Ayala

  Angela Strange and Gabriel Vasquez are joined by Alejandro Maza Ayala, Chief Product & AI Officer at Kavak, to unpack how the Latin American used-car marketplace rebuilt itself around AI agents, with 96% of customer interactions and 95% of transactions now handled by agents. Alejandro explains why Kavak decided that simply giving employees AI tools wasn't enough, and instead redesigned the company's systems, teams, and customer experience around agents. They discuss why Kavak spends as much engi

  agents
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  Decagon’s Playbook for Building Enterprise AI Applications

  Published Jul 31, 2026

  Sarah Wang and Kimberly Tan are joined by Jesse Zhang and Ashwin Sreenivas, co-founders of Decagon, to discuss the evolution of enterprise AI agents, why the company increasingly relies on open-source models, and how it is helping some of the world’s largest companies deploy AI in production. Decagon has become one of the fastest-growing AI companies by building agents that automate customer support, sales, and operational workflows. Jesse, Decagon’s CEO, and Ashwin, its president, explain how t

  agents
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  AI for America's Small Businesses | Lassie

  Published Jul 30, 2026

  Alex Rampell and Olivia Moore speak with Lassie cofounders Steijn Pelle and Frédéric Renken about bringing AI to one of the most overlooked parts of the economy: small businesses. Inspired by time spent working inside dental practices, Pelle and Renken set out to automate the administrative work that keeps healthcare providers away from patients. They discuss how AI agents are changing billing, insurance claims, patient payments, and other operational workflows, allowing practices to spend less

  agents
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  AI Micro Dramas, Generative Media, and the Future of Creativity

  Published Jul 29, 2026

  Justine Moore, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joins New Economies to explore the rapid evolution of generative media and why AI-native content is reaching an inflection point. They discuss the rise of AI micro-dramas, how creators are building entirely new forms of entertainment, and why the biggest opportunities may lie not in replacing Hollywood—but in expanding who gets to create. They also cover the future of creator tools, AI agents for individuals, generative video, AI "slop," the economi

  agents
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  Is Software Losing Its Head?

  Published Jul 7, 2026

  Seema Amble, Steven Sinofsky, and Elena Burger unpack one of the biggest questions facing enterprise software: what happens when AI agents become the primary users of software instead of humans? The conversation explores the rise of "headless" software, why APIs and agentic workflows are reshaping enterprise applications, and whether traditional SaaS products are becoming systems of record rather than systems of engagement. They discuss Salesforce's Headless 360 announcement, MCP, enterprise sof

  agents
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  Building AI for Creators | Luma & Phota Labs

  Published Jun 30, 2026

  Yoko Li speaks with Luma's Head of Applied Research Matt Tancik and Phota Labs cofounder and CTO Zach Xia about how AI is changing creativity, photography, and the tools people use to make art. The conversation explores the evolving relationship between artists and AI, from image generation and personalization to creative workflows, controllability, and agentic design tools. They discuss personalization, photography, creative software, model design, evaluation, and why the future of creative too

  agents
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  Building Search for AI Agents with Exa CEO Will Bryk

  Published Jun 6, 2026

  Sarah Wang speaks with Exa cofounder and CEO Will Bryk about building search infrastructure for the AI era. The conversation covers Exa’s origins, why traditional search engines were not designed for AI agents, and how search changes when the user is no longer a human but an autonomous system. They discuss retrieval, agent workflows, coding agents, data access, and why search may become a foundational layer for the emerging agent economy. Along the way, Bryk shares his views on AI-native product

  agents
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  AI Agents and the Fight for Customer Data

  Published Jun 5, 2026

  Martin Casado speaks with George Fraser, cofounder and CEO of Fivetran, about the future of data infrastructure in the age of AI. The conversation covers Fivetran’s merger with dbt, the changing role of data platforms, and why Fraser believes many companies are overestimating the threat AI poses to enterprise software. They discuss open data access, the backlash against AI agents accessing systems of record, and why businesses still need centralized data foundations even as agent-based workflows

  agents
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  Building AI Agents for Enterprise Operations

  Published Jun 1, 2026

  Anish Acharya and Olivia Moore speak with Pablo Palafox and Luis Paarup about the challenges of deploying AI agents in operationally complex industries. The conversation covers the evolution of voice AI, enterprise workflows, and why logistics became an early proving ground for agent-based systems. They discuss context, coordination, and execution inside large organizations, as well as the role of forward-deployed engineering, enterprise deployment, and what it takes to move AI from experimentat

  agents
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  Stablecoins, AI Agents, and The Future of Global Banking

  Published May 28, 2026

  Angela Strange speaks with Dileep Thazhmon, founder and CEO of Jeeves, about building a global financial operating system for enterprises across Latin America using stablecoins and AI. The conversation covers the challenges of building localized financial infrastructure across 25 countries, from regulation and payments to underwriting and compliance. They also discuss why stablecoin adoption is accelerating in Latin America, and how AI is helping Jeeves scale billions in payment volume while aut

  agents
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  Marc Andreessen on AI, California, and the Future of America | Joe Rogan

  Published May 20, 2026

  Joe Rogan

  Marc Andreessen joins Joe Rogan for a conversation on AI, politics, technology, and the future of American society. They discuss how artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from novelty to infrastructure, and why Andreessen believes its long-term impact will be overwhelmingly positive despite growing public fear around automation and surveillance. The conversation covers the explosion of AI coding tools, the emergence of “AI agents,” and how these systems are already reshaping software develop

  agents
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  Rethinking Git for the Age of Coding Agents with GitHub Cofounder Scott Chacon

  Published Apr 20, 2026

  Matt Bornstein speaks with Scott Chacon, cofounder of GitHub and CEO of GitButler, about why Git's user interface has barely changed since 2005, how GitButler is rethinking version control for both humans and AI agents, and what the "next GitHub" might actually look like. They cover parallel branches, agent-optimized CLI design, the future of code review, and why the best engineers of the future will be the best writers. Resources: Follow Scott Chacon on X: https://twitter.com/chacon Follow Matt

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