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'''Ben Horowitz''' (born June 13, 1966 in [[London]], [[England]] and raised in [[Berkeley, California]]) is a high technology entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for co-founding and running (as its President and Chief Executive Officer) the enterprise software company [[Opsware]]. In July 2007, Horowitz sold Opsware to [[Hewlett-Packard]] for $1.6 billion in cash.<ref>[http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070723xa.html HP announces acquisition of Opsware on June 23, 2007]</ref> In June 2009, Ben Horowitz and [[Marc Andreessen]] co-founded the venture capital firm [[Andreessen Horowitz]] in Menlo Park, CA.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS110660+06-Jul-2009+BW20090706 Reuters July 6, 2009coverage on the launch of Andreessen Horowitz]</ref>
'''Ben Horowitz''' (born June 13, 1966 in [[London]], [[England]] and raised in [[Berkeley, California]]) is a high technology entrepreneur and co-founder and general partner along with [[Marc Andreessen]] of the [[venture capital]] firm [[Andreessen Horowitz]]. He co-founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the enterprise software company [[Opsware]], which [[Hewlett-Packard]] acquired for $1.6 billion in cash in July 2007.<ref>[http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070723xa.html HP announces acquisition of Opsware on June 23, 2007]</ref>

⚫
==Andreessen Horowitz==
Between 2005 and 2009, Horowitz and Andreessen separately and together invested $4 million in 45 startups including [[Qik]]<ref name="UCLA Engineering">{{cite web|last=Wong Kromhout|first=Wileen|title=Ben Horowitz MS ’90|url=http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/visitor-links/alumni/alumni-profiles-1/ben-horowitz-ms-201990|work=Alumni|publisher=UCLA Engineering|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> and Nicira.<ref name="Forbes Nicira">{{cite web|last=Geron|first=Tomio|title=Marc Andreessen on VMWare's $1.2 Billion Nicira Buy: Cloud Deals Have "Really Lit Up"|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/07/23/marc-andreessen-on-vmwares-1-2-billion-nicira-buy-enterprise-deals-have-really-lit-up/|publisher=Forbes|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> During those four years, the two became well known as super angel investors.<ref name="UCLA Engineering" /> On July 6, 2009, Horowitz and Andreessen launched Andreessen Horowitz<ref name="CNNMoney AH announce">{{cite web|last=Maney|first=Kevin|title=Marc Andreessen puts his money where his mouth is|url=http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/02/technology/marc_andreessen_venture_fund.fortune/index.htm|publisher=CNNMoney|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> to invest in and advise both early-stage startups and more established growth companies in high technology.

Andreessen Horowitz began with an initial capitalization of $300 million<ref name="Financial Times 11-10">{{cite web|last=Menn|first=Joseph|title=Andreessen expands venture capital business|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/af5c1a7c-e717-11df-880d-00144feab49a.html#axzz22QfJPca1|work=Financial Services|publisher=Financial Times|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> and within three years had $2.7 billion under management across three funds.<ref name="VentureBeat 1.31.12">{{cite news|last=Popper|first=Ben|title=Andreessen-Horowitz raises $1.5B for third fund in three years|url=http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/31/andreessen-horowitz-raises-1-5b-for-third-fund-in-three-years/|accessdate=2 August 2012|newspaper=VentureBeat|date=31 January 2012}}</ref> Andreessen Horowitz has invested in over 150 companies<ref name="PRNewswire 7-25-12">{{cite web|title=Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners Invest $11.2 Million in Meteor|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/andreessen-horowitz-matrix-partners-invest-112-million-in-meteor-2012-07-25|work=News Release|publisher=PR Newswire|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> in mobile, gaming, [[social media]], [[ecommerce]], [[education]] and enterprise IT (including [[cloud computing]], security, and [[Software as a Service]]).<ref name="Ben's Blog 4.6.11">{{cite web|last=Horowitz|first=Ben|title=http://bhorowitz.com/2011/04/06/andreessen-horowitz-has-a-new-200mm-co-investment-fund/|url=http://bhorowitz.com/2011/04/06/andreessen-horowitz-has-a-new-200mm-co-investment-fund/|work=Ben's Blog|publisher=Bhorowitz.com|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> The firms in which Andreessen Horowitz has invested include [[Facebook]], [[Foursquare]], [[GitHub]], [[Pinterest]], and [[Twitter]].<ref name="PRNewswire 7-25-12" />

On September 1, 2009, an investor group including Andreessen Horowitz announced it had acquired a majority stake in [[Skype]] for $2.75 billion,<ref name="TechCrunch 11.19.09">{{cite news|last=Wauters|first=Robin|title=http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/05/10/microsoft-skype-deal-andreessen-horowitz-takes-victory-lap/|url=http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/19/ebay-skype-sale/|accessdate=2 August 2012|newspaper=TechCrunch|date=19 November 2009}}</ref> a move that was considered risky at the time.<ref name="WSJ Deal Journal">{{cite web|last=Ovide|first=Shira|title=Microsoft-Skype Deal: Andreessen Horowitz Takes Victory Lap|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/05/10/microsoft-skype-deal-andreessen-horowitz-takes-victory-lap/|work=Deal Journal|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> Horowitz also joined Skype's board. The deal paid off when Skype was sold to [[Microsoft]] in May 2011 for $8.5 billion.<ref name="WSJ Deal Journal" /> Andreessen and Horowitz made personal investments in headset maker [[Jawbone (headset)|Jawbone]] in 2006; the firm announced a $49 million investment in Jawbone in March 2011.<ref name="NYT Dealbook 3-16-11">{{cite news|last=Rusli|first=Evelyn M.|title=Andreessen Horowitz Makes a Bet on Jawbone|url=http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/andreessen-horowitz-makes-a-bet-on-jawbone/|accessdate=2 August 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 March 2011}}</ref>

Horowitz serves on the boards of [[Lytro]], [[Foursquare]], [[SnapLogic]], [[Okta]], and Tidemark as well as [[Jawbone (headset)|Jawbone]], Magnet, Nicira and NationBuilder,<ref name="TecCrunch Struggle">{{cite web|last=Horowitz|first=Ben|title=The Struggle|url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/14/the-struggle/|work=Startups|publisher=TechCrunch|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref> all of which are in Andreessen Horowitz’s portfolio.<ref name="a16z Portfolio">{{cite web|title=Portfolio Companies (Entire Portfolio)|url=http://a16z.com/portfolio/|publisher=Andreessen Horowitz|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref> His blog on the Andreessen Horowitz web site is syndicated to over 10 million readers,<ref name="NYTimes 7.22.12">{{cite news|last=Perlroth|first=Nicole|title=Venture Capital Firms, Once Discreet, Learn the Promotional Game|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/business/venture-capital-firms-once-discreet-learn-the-promotional-game.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|accessdate=3 August 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 July 2012}}</ref> is considered required reading for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs,<ref name="Bloomberg BizWeek">{{cite web|last=Stone|first=Brad|title=The New New Andreessen|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b4203000012271.htm#p2|work=Features|publisher=BloombergBusinessWeek Magazine|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref> and was named one of “40 Entrepreneur Blogs You Should Be Reading” in 2011.<ref name="Elance Blog">{{cite web|title=40 Entrepreneur Blogs You Should Be Reading|url=https://www.elance.com/p/blog/2011/09/40-entrepreneur-blogs-you-should-be-reading.html|work=Blog|publisher=Elance|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref>

Horowitz and Andreessen were ranked no. 6 on [[Vanity Fair]]’s 2011 New Establishment List,<ref name="Vanity Fair">{{cite web|title=The 2011 New Establishment List: And the Top Spot Goes to...|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/09/the-2011-new-establishment-list--and-the-top-spot-goes-to---?mobify=0|work=VF Daily|publisher=Vanity Fair|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref> no. 1 on [[CNET]]’s 2011 most influential investors list<ref name="CNET Investors">{{cite web|title=Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz|url=http://news.cnet.com/2300-1001_3-10010632.html|work=12 of the most influential tech investors of 2011|publisher=CNET|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref> and no. 21 and no. 2, respectively, on the 2012 [[Forbes]] [[Midas List]] of Tech’s Top Investors.<ref name="Midas List">{{cite web|title=2012's Top Tech Investors|url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/midas/2012/midas-list-top-tech-investors.html|work=The Midas List:|publisher=Forbes|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref>


==Loudcloud and Opsware==
==Loudcloud and Opsware==
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Following the sale of Opsware to Hewlett-Packard, Horowitz then spent one year at Hewlett-Packard as Vice President and General Manager in HP Software<ref>[http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2008/techforum/bi_horowitz.pdf HP executive profile of Ben Horowitz]</ref> with responsibility for 3,000 employees and $2.8 billion in annual revenue.
Following the sale of Opsware to Hewlett-Packard, Horowitz then spent one year at Hewlett-Packard as Vice President and General Manager in HP Software<ref>[http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2008/techforum/bi_horowitz.pdf HP executive profile of Ben Horowitz]</ref> with responsibility for 3,000 employees and $2.8 billion in annual revenue.

⚫
==Andreessen Horowitz==
Between 2005 and 2009, Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen separately and together made a series of 40 angel investments in early stage technology companies primarily in Silicon Valley. In June 2009, Ben and Marc created the venture capital firm named [[Andreessen Horowitz]] to increase their ability to invest in and advise high technology companies.


==Education and early career==
==Education and early career==
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==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Horowitz lives in [[Silicon Valley]] with his wife and three daughters. In April 2012, Horowitz along with Andreessen Horowitz General Partners Marc Andreessen, Peter Levine, Jeff Jordan, John O’Farrell and Scott Weiss pledged to give half of their lifetime income from venture capital to charity.<ref name=Reuters>{{cite web|last=McBride|first=Sarah|title=Andreessen Horowitz partners pledge income to charity|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-andreessenhorowitz-charity-idUSBRE83O1CV20120425|publisher=Reuters|accessdate=3 August 2012}}</ref>
Ben Horowitz lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and three daughters.


==References==
==References==
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* [http://bhorowitz.com Ben's Blog]
* [http://bhorowitz.com Ben's Blog]
* [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ben-horowitz/0/7a/3a4 Ben Horowitz's profile on LinkedIn]
* [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ben-horowitz/0/7a/3a4 Ben Horowitz's profile on LinkedIn]
* [http://www.crunchbase.com/person/ben-horowitz Ben Horowitz's profile on Crunchbase] (note, information is only up-to-date through Ben's tenure at HP Software)
* [http://www.crunchbase.com/person/ben-horowitz Ben Horowitz's profile on Crunchbase]
* [http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/andreessen-horowitz Crunchbase profile on Andreessen Horowitz]
* [http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/andreessen-horowitz Crunchbase profile on Andreessen Horowitz]
* [http://blog.pmarca.com/2009/07/introducing-our-new-venture-capital-firm-andreessen-horowitz.html Marc Andreessen's blog entry announcing the formation of Andreessen Horowitz]
* [http://blog.pmarca.com/2009/07/introducing-our-new-venture-capital-firm-andreessen-horowitz.html Marc Andreessen's blog entry announcing the formation of Andreessen Horowitz]

Revision as of 04:03, 3 August 2012

Ben Horowitz
Born (1966-06-13) June 13, 1966 (age 58)
Alma materColumbia University (B.A.)
UCLA (M.S.)
OccupationVenture Capital
Known forCo-Founder of Opsware and Andreessen Horowitz

Ben Horowitz (born June 13, 1966 in London, England and raised in Berkeley, California) is a high technology entrepreneur and co-founder and general partner along with Marc Andreessen of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He co-founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the enterprise software company Opsware, which Hewlett-Packard acquired for $1.6 billion in cash in July 2007.[1]

Andreessen Horowitz

Between 2005 and 2009, Horowitz and Andreessen separately and together invested $4 million in 45 startups including Qik[2] and Nicira.[3] During those four years, the two became well known as super angel investors.[2] On July 6, 2009, Horowitz and Andreessen launched Andreessen Horowitz[4] to invest in and advise both early-stage startups and more established growth companies in high technology.

Andreessen Horowitz began with an initial capitalization of $300 million[5] and within three years had $2.7 billion under management across three funds.[6] Andreessen Horowitz has invested in over 150 companies[7] in mobile, gaming, social media, ecommerce, education and enterprise IT (including cloud computing, security, and Software as a Service).[8] The firms in which Andreessen Horowitz has invested include Facebook, Foursquare, GitHub, Pinterest, and Twitter.[7]

On September 1, 2009, an investor group including Andreessen Horowitz announced it had acquired a majority stake in Skype for $2.75 billion,[9] a move that was considered risky at the time.[10] Horowitz also joined Skype's board. The deal paid off when Skype was sold to Microsoft in May 2011 for $8.5 billion.[10] Andreessen and Horowitz made personal investments in headset maker Jawbone in 2006; the firm announced a $49 million investment in Jawbone in March 2011.[11]

Horowitz serves on the boards of Lytro, Foursquare, SnapLogic, Okta, and Tidemark as well as Jawbone, Magnet, Nicira and NationBuilder,[12] all of which are in Andreessen Horowitz’s portfolio.[13] His blog on the Andreessen Horowitz web site is syndicated to over 10 million readers,[14] is considered required reading for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs,[15] and was named one of “40 Entrepreneur Blogs You Should Be Reading” in 2011.[16]

Horowitz and Andreessen were ranked no. 6 on Vanity Fair’s 2011 New Establishment List,[17] no. 1 on CNET’s 2011 most influential investors list[18] and no. 21 and no. 2, respectively, on the 2012 Forbes Midas List of Tech’s Top Investors.[19]

Loudcloud and Opsware

In September 1999, Horowitz cofounded Loudcloud with Marc Andreessen, Tim Howes, and In Sik Rhee. Loudcloud offered infrastructure and application hosting services to enterprise and Internet customers such as Ford Motor Company, Nike, Inc., Gannett Company, News Corporation, the United States Army and other large organizations. Horowitz took Loudcloud public on March 9, 2001.[20]

In June 2002, Horowitz began a dramatic transformation of Loudcloud into Opsware, an enterprise software company. He took the first step by selling Loudcloud's core managed services business to Electronic Data Systems for $63.5 million in cash.[21] This transaction transferred 100% of Loudcloud's revenue to EDS while the company was publicly traded on NASDAQ. Beginning with EDS as its first enterprise software customer, Horowitz grew Opsware to hundreds of enterprise customers, over $100 million in annual revenue, and 550 employees. In July 2007, Horowitz sold Opsware to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in cash.

Horowitz was Loudcloud’s and Opsware’s President and Chief Executive Officer for the entire history of the company. Along the way, shares of Opsware rose from $0.35 per share (at its nadir) to $14.25 a share (at the time of its sale to HP).

Following the sale of Opsware to Hewlett-Packard, Horowitz then spent one year at Hewlett-Packard as Vice President and General Manager in HP Software[22] with responsibility for 3,000 employees and $2.8 billion in annual revenue.

Education and early career

Horowitz earned a BA in Computer Science from Columbia University in 1988 and an MS in Computer Science from UCLA in 1990.

After UCLA, he began his career as an engineer at Silicon Graphics in the early 1990s. In 1995, Horowitz joined Marc Andreessen at Netscape as one of Netscape’s first product managers. He was rapidly promoted to Vice President and General Manager and was responsible for much of the Netscape Server product line, including 300+ people and $100M+ in revenue. After Netscape was acquired by AOL in 1998, Horowitz served as Vice President of AOL’s eCommerce Division.

Personal life

Horowitz lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and three daughters. In April 2012, Horowitz along with Andreessen Horowitz General Partners Marc Andreessen, Peter Levine, Jeff Jordan, John O’Farrell and Scott Weiss pledged to give half of their lifetime income from venture capital to charity.[23]

References

  1. ^ HP announces acquisition of Opsware on June 23, 2007
  2. ^ a b Wong Kromhout, Wileen. "Ben Horowitz MS '90". Alumni. UCLA Engineering. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. ^ Geron, Tomio. "Marc Andreessen on VMWare's $1.2 Billion Nicira Buy: Cloud Deals Have "Really Lit Up"". Forbes. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  4. ^ Maney, Kevin. "Marc Andreessen puts his money where his mouth is". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  5. ^ Menn, Joseph. "Andreessen expands venture capital business". Financial Services. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  6. ^ Popper, Ben (31 January 2012). "Andreessen-Horowitz raises $1.5B for third fund in three years". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners Invest $11.2 Million in Meteor". News Release. PR Newswire. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  8. ^ Horowitz, Ben. "http://bhorowitz.com/2011/04/06/andreessen-horowitz-has-a-new-200mm-co-investment-fund/". Ben's Blog. Bhorowitz.com. Retrieved 2 August 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  9. ^ Wauters, Robin (19 November 2009). "http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/05/10/microsoft-skype-deal-andreessen-horowitz-takes-victory-lap/". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 August 2012. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  10. ^ a b Ovide, Shira. "Microsoft-Skype Deal: Andreessen Horowitz Takes Victory Lap". Deal Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  11. ^ Rusli, Evelyn M. (16 March 2011). "Andreessen Horowitz Makes a Bet on Jawbone". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  12. ^ Horowitz, Ben. "The Struggle". Startups. TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Portfolio Companies (Entire Portfolio)". Andreessen Horowitz. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  14. ^ Perlroth, Nicole (22 July 2012). "Venture Capital Firms, Once Discreet, Learn the Promotional Game". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  15. ^ Stone, Brad. "The New New Andreessen". Features. BloombergBusinessWeek Magazine. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  16. ^ "40 Entrepreneur Blogs You Should Be Reading". Blog. Elance. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  17. ^ "The 2011 New Establishment List: And the Top Spot Goes to..." VF Daily. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  18. ^ "Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz". 12 of the most influential tech investors of 2011. CNET. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  19. ^ "2012's Top Tech Investors". The Midas List:. Forbes. Retrieved 3 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  20. ^ CNET coverage of Loudcloud's IPO
  21. ^ ChannelWeb June 17, 2002 coverage of the sale of Loudcloud's managed services business to EDS
  22. ^ HP executive profile of Ben Horowitz
  23. ^ McBride, Sarah. "Andreessen Horowitz partners pledge income to charity". Reuters. Retrieved 3 August 2012.


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