Andreessen Horowitz launches tuition-free school for aspiring founders after high school

### Andreessen Horowitz Launches New School for High School Graduates Who Skip College

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, widely known as a16z, is launching a new educational institution aimed at high school graduates who want to pursue technology and entrepreneurship without immediately attending college.

The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, based in San Francisco, will offer students a hands-on learning environment focused on building products, developing technical skills and exploring subjects that extend beyond traditional technology education.

The academy’s curriculum will include technical courses such as “AI Research and Models,” alongside classes focused on philosophy, personal development and broader approaches to decision-making. One course, “The Geometry of Luck,” is designed around the idea of creating conditions in which opportunities and good fortune can emerge.

Rather than relying primarily on conventional classroom instruction, the academy plans to have students learn by working on their own projects, either independently or in teams.

Students will also have access to mentors and guest speakers from technology companies and Silicon Valley. The academy says these connections are intended to form part of a broader network linking students with experienced founders, engineers and technology executives.

Gagan Biyani, CEO of the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, said the institution is designed for highly promising young people who have completed high school and want an alternative path into technology and entrepreneurship.

Biyani said the academy’s central objective is to teach students how to build, describing that ability as an increasingly important skill in an era shaped by artificial intelligence.

The school’s network includes 10 founding corporate partners: Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit and Stripe.

According to Biyani, the broader network also includes more than 50 hiring partners and over 200 speakers and mentors who are expected to contribute to the academy’s educational and professional programs.

The initiative represents a different approach from the traditional college-to-career pathway that has long been common in Silicon Valley. Instead of requiring students to complete a four-year degree before entering the technology workforce, the academy emphasizes demonstrated ability through projects and practical experience.

The inaugural program is currently accepting applications and is expected to run for one year. The academy plans to enroll approximately 50 students and will not charge tuition for the first program.

Applicants will be evaluated primarily on “proof of work,” according to the academy’s admissions information. This can include evidence of products they have built, projects they have completed, work they have shipped or money they have earned.

The school’s approach places less emphasis on conventional academic credentials and more on what prospective students have already accomplished.

However, the Horowitz Andreessen Academy is not currently an accredited educational institution. Students completing the initial program will not receive a college degree or transferable college credits.

The lack of accreditation distinguishes the academy from traditional universities and means students will be pursuing an alternative educational and professional pathway rather than a conventional undergraduate credential.

The program could also expand beyond its initial one-year format. According to TechCrunch, the academy plans to introduce a two-year program beginning in 2028.

Biyani has said that the future two-year program is expected to have tuition comparable to that of an elite private university, although the inaugural program will be tuition-free.

The academy is open to high school graduates, including applicants who are younger than 18. Its founders also envision the institution potentially growing beyond its initial cohort of about 50 students.

The launch comes as artificial intelligence continues to reshape how technology companies think about hiring, education and technical skills. Andreessen Horowitz’s model places entrepreneurship and practical building experience at the center of that changing landscape.

For the venture capital firm, the academy also creates a direct connection with a new generation of aspiring founders and engineers, giving students access to a network of technology companies, investors and industry mentors at an early stage of their careers.