a16z launches $1.1B Machine Age Fund, betting on AI hardware and infrastructure

Odaily News: a16z announced the closing of its new fund, Machine Age Fund, with $1.1 billion in funding, focused on investing in the hardware and infrastructure that powers AI, including chips, memory, networking, storage, as well as complete systems such as data centers, robotics, and home AI devices.

a16z noted that surging AI demand and compute density are pushing existing supply chains and physical and computational architectures to their limits. Rack power is rising from 5-10kW to 100-250kW, and is expected to reach 1MW within three years, while data center scales are expanding toward hundreds of megawatts and even gigawatt-class campuses. The fund will target higher compute density, cheaper high-bandwidth memory, faster interconnects, low-power edge devices, as well as supporting cooling, power, and real estate infrastructure, to back a new generation of AI hardware startups.