The a16z Cultural Leadership Fund

A fund of cultural leaders inside a venture firm

The Cultural Leadership Fund, known as CLF, sits within the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. It describes itself as the first venture fund in Silicon Valley composed exclusively of Black cultural leaders and organizations dedicated to generating Black wealth. Its stated purpose is to bring about two changes: more Black capital on the ownership tables of leading technology companies, and more Black talent working inside those companies from their earliest stages. The fund argues that both would help build generational wealth in Black communities.

How the fund works

CLF coinvests alongside Andreessen Horowitz in that firm's portfolio companies, which the fund says cover areas from games and fintech to crypto, enterprise software, consumer products and healthcare. Beyond the investors in the fund itself, it has built a network of leaders in music, sports, entertainment, art and business, and arranges introductions between those people and portfolio companies when a partnership would help both sides grow.

Where the money goes

Every management fee and share of profit the fund generates is donated to nonprofit organizations and initiatives that bring Black people into technology roles. CLF names new nonprofit partners each year and also runs a talent network linking Black professionals with openings in the industry.

The argument behind it

The fund's own explanation is historical. Early technology was sold to governments and big business, but after the internet and the smartphone arrived, new products reach consumers first, which makes consumer behavior and culture central to success. CLF notes that African American communities created much of modern music, fashion, dance and language, and influenced the growth of technology platforms, yet were offered no early equity in them. Linking cultural creators to technology companies is its response.

Events and content

The site carries podcast episodes on cultural influencers in technology and on restorative justice, a summit for cultural leaders, articles on how founders and cultural leaders can work together, a series on the creator economy, and a digital art collective led by the fund.

The a16z Cultural Leadership Fund is a venture capital fund set up within Andreessen Horowitz. It is described as the first such fund made up only of Black cultural leaders and organisations committed to building Black wealth.

What The a16z Cultural Leadership Fund offers

• Co-investment: it invests alongside a16z in its portfolio companies.
• Network introductions: links between artists, athletes and entertainers and technology founders.
• Talent network: the CLF Talent Network connects Black professionals with technology roles.
• Nonprofit giving: all the management income the fund earns is donated to nonprofits.
• Initiatives: projects such as the Black Digital Art Collective.

Clients

Founders in consumer, crypto, enterprise, fintech, games, and bio and health. Its network spans music, sports, entertainment, art and business.

Key facts

• Parent: Andreessen Horowitz
• Aim: more Black capital in company ownership and more Black talent in early technology teams