a16z Acquires Tech Podcast Host Erik Torenberg as New Partner

Andreessen Horowitz Expands with Key Acquisition

The venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is continuing its period of significant growth through strategic hiring. Erik Torenberg revealed on Monday that his Turpentine podcast was acquired by the firm, and he will be joining a16z as a general partner.

Focus of the Turpentine Podcast

Torenberg’s podcast primarily centers around interviews with venture capitalists from diverse firms, exploring their investment strategies. Notable recent interviewees include Andrew Braccia of Accel, Alexis Ohanian from Seven Seven Six, and Sarah Tavel and Eric Vishria of Benchmark.

It remains to be seen if the podcast’s direction will evolve following the acquisition. While a16z already produces substantial corporate content, including its own podcast series, its emphasis generally lies on featuring founders rather than fellow VCs.

Torenberg’s Background and Experience

The addition of Torenberg to a16z is a logical move. Prior to this, he was an early team member at Product Hunt.

He has also demonstrated success as both an angel investor and a professional venture capitalist over the past several years. For the last seven years, Torenberg was associated with Village Global.

During his time at Village Global, he played a key role in the launch of On Deck, a program designed to mentor and train prospective founders.

Investment Portfolio

Torenberg’s investment portfolio includes several prominent companies, such as:

• Scale AI
• Lattice
• Figma
• Perplexity
• Replit
• Flexport
• and others

Recent a16z Hires

This acquisition is part of a broader trend of expansion at Andreessen Horowitz. The firm recently brought on former North Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry.

Several months prior, former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny also joined the venture capital firm.