For a long time, becoming a successful tech CEO seemed to be inexplicably linked to dropping out of college. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs famously did so, followed by some of today’s most notable leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman.
But a new project announced by venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is offering a new alternative to college: an academy for recent high school graduates looking for a non-traditional next step in their educational experience.
Launched on Sept. 22, the Horowitz Andreessen Academy (aka the Academy) is an unaccredited private, full-time, in-person school based in San Francisco for students aged 18-22 looking to start their own ventures and develop new technologies.
The Academy has raised $42 million to date, with funding led by a16z and investors including C-suite from Shopify, DoorDash, Palantir, and Alpha School.
Applications are already open for The Academy’s founding class, with the first year’s tuition said to be free for students. According to the Academy CEO Gagan Biyani, the school will then offer the two-year program for “similar in cost to an elite private university.”
In contrast to traditional higher education models, the Academy claims to stand out for its focus on student-led projects and connections from the school’s founding partners: Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit, and Stripe.
Beyond the a16z connection and big name partners, the school is also gaining traction for its expansive list of teaching staff and mentors which include high profile industry leaders like Altman, Jensen Huang, and Mira Murati.
According to an X article posted by a16z general partner Erik Torenberg, the school’s program revolves around three central elements: co-ops at Silicon Valley companies, courses taught by experts, and “pursuits” or personal projects led by students.
The courses themselves are hyperspecific to the tech innovation world, with classes like “Origins and Innovations in Digital Computing 1940-2025” or “The Craft of Selling.”
The Academy’s location in San Francisco also seems to be intentionally chosen as part of the school experience.
“The city loves hustlers and rule breakers. And the leaders at the highest level of the tech industry show up every day at every day events,” Torenberg wrote. “In what other place or what other industry, would you be able to walk up to the equivalents of Jamie Dimon or David Solomon at an event and have a great conversation?”
Those wishing to apply will be required to submit high school transcripts, test scores, a short video, and a portfolio, with those accepted expected to begin classes in Sept. 2027. Just like the application process for colleges around the country, the a16z-led program will offer an early decision application with a Nov. 5 deadline.
