a16z sees foreign AI founders gaining a strategic edge over U.S. peers

Andreessen Horowitz’s Gabriel Vasquez and Angela Strange contend that artificial-intelligence technology is shifting the balance in favor of foreign founders, a trend reflected in the fact that 44% of investments from the firm’s Apps Fund One and Two involve international entrepreneurs. Through the Borderless Founder network, a16z is actively courting global AI startups, even logging more than one million air miles to meet founders in places like Stockholm and Poland.

The firm observes that enterprise buyers outside the United States have become more willing to pay for AI solutions, a change that has accelerated over the past three to five years. This shift has opened doors for companies such as ElevenLabs, which, despite being based in Poland, counts InPost and LOT Polish Airlines among its clients. Vasquez also points out that recruiting top talent in Silicon Valley is increasingly difficult, making overseas talent pools an attractive alternative for building AI ventures.