a16z

Start by checking the location requirement

Both programmes that welcome early founders are in San Francisco and in person. Before you apply, decide whether you can be on site for the whole programme: twelve weeks for speedrun, eight weeks for the Alpha Founder Track, four weeks for the Alpha Talent Track. Speedrun says it welcomes founders from India and offers a Global Founders Program with guidance on banking, visas and relocation.

Choosing the right programme

• Starting a company with no idea, entity or team yet, and a student or recent graduate: Alpha Founder Track.
• A technical student or recent graduate who wants an engineering role at a startup: Alpha Talent Track. You can apply to both Alpha tracks.
• An early-stage company with a product you are building: speedrun.
• Founders and operators looking for a peer community, not funding: a16z Build.

How applications work

Speedrun takes applications directly through a form on its site, reviewed on a rolling basis, usually within four to six weeks. Applications made between cohorts are considered for the next one. Alpha has a separate application and then live interviews. A speedrun application and an Alpha application are two different things.

What to know about the deal

Both speedrun and Alpha invest through a SAFE, which means a16z takes equity. Read the current terms on each programme's page before you apply, because they are the firm's to change.

Check dates before you plan

The Alpha page lists a deadline without a year and also says second-cohort applications open in September 2026. Confirm the live dates on the page. For speedrun, the next cohort is SR008, running from late January to April 2027.

The main funds

a16z's site does not list an application form for its main funds. If you are not applying to a programme, treat a16z as an investor you reach through a warm introduction, not a programme you can enrol in.

Andreessen Horowitz, known as a16z, is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Its main office is listed in Menlo Park, California, and it also runs speedrun, an accelerator, and the Alpha Fellowship for students and recent graduates, both based in San Francisco. It has no office in India, and the programmes open to Indian founders require time on site in the United States.

What a16z invests in

a16z says it invests from seed through venture to growth-stage technology companies. The areas it names are AI, bio and healthcare, consumer, crypto, enterprise, fintech, games, infrastructure, and companies building toward what it calls American dynamism. It takes equity in the companies it backs. Its pages do not publish an application form for its main funds, so founders should not expect a standard "apply" route into them. The one dependable way in that the site describes is its own programmes, covered below.

How the programmes work

The programme most relevant to founders outside the United States is speedrun. It is a twelve-week, in-person programme in San Francisco, run twice a year by a16z's speedrun team. Selected companies receive an investment from a16z in the form of a SAFE, with a second investment tied to the company's next round. Participants also get cloud, AI and software credits from partners, priority access to model providers, app stores and social platforms, and access to a network of executives and decision-makers at more than two thousand companies. The next cohort, called SR008, runs from late January to April 2027, and attendance in San Francisco is required throughout.

The Alpha Fellowship by speedrun is aimed at students and recent graduates who want to start a company before they have an entity, an idea or a team. It is run by the speedrun team in partnership with EO Ventures and has two tracks. The Founder Track is an eight-week, in-person experience in San Francisco from January 11 to March 5. Selected founders receive an investment through a SAFE, partner credits and priority access to platforms, and they get priority consideration for speedrun. The Talent Track is a four-week embed from February 8 to March 5 for technical students and recent graduates who want a software engineering role at a speedrun portfolio startup. You can apply to both tracks, and the Alpha team helps decide which one fits.

a16z Build is a separate, non-funding effort. It describes itself as a community and dinner series for founders and operators who are working out their next company, collaborator or chapter, with peer-led communities for builders and operators in emerging disciplines.

Who can apply from India

Speedrun says it welcomes early-stage founders from all backgrounds and from around the world, and it lists India among the countries its founders come from. Founders from outside the United States can also use its Global Founders Program, which gives hands-on guidance on banking, visas and relocation, along with a community of other international founders.

The condition that matters is location. Speedrun states that the twelve-week in-person component is designed to be immersive, so participants must be able to attend on site in San Francisco. Alpha is also in person in San Francisco. Its pages state no nationality or visa rule for Alpha. If you cannot be in San Francisco for the full length of a programme, neither is a fit for you.

Applications and timing

Speedrun reviews applications on a rolling basis, usually within four to six weeks. Founders apply directly through a form on the speedrun site rather than by introduction. Applications that arrive between cohorts are considered for the next one.

Alpha has its own application, separate from speedrun, followed by a series of live interviews. The Alpha page lists an application deadline of October 11 without printing a year, and the same page carries a banner saying that applications for its second cohort open in September 2026 and inviting early submissions. Because the page is not consistent about the dates, check the Alpha page itself for the current status before you plan around it. Its eligibility window is also stated two ways: the page says graduates within one year in one place and within three years in another.

Scale

These figures are a16z's own and have not been checked independently. Speedrun began in 2023. Its two pages disagree on how many startups it has funded: one says over 200, the other says over 300. The speedrun team says recent cohorts have had between 60 and 70 teams, with no fixed minimum or maximum, and describes its acceptance rate as lower than 0.4 percent. One a16z page says the speedrun community has over 600 founders.

Locations

a16z lists seven offices: Menlo Park, San Francisco, New York City, Washington DC, Santa Monica, Seoul and Tokyo. None is in India. Each office has its own general inbox, and the Menlo Park one is listed in the contact details here. Speedrun cohorts take place in San Francisco.