a16z and General Catalyst Race to Lock Up Chips for Startups

By Olivia Hart

Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst are racing to secure the chips their startups need, The Information reports. The two firms — among the most active investors in artificial intelligence — have concluded that portfolio companies cannot rely on open-market access to advanced semiconductors.

The report itself is the fact here: two of Silicon Valley's largest venture firms now treat compute supply as an investment-desk problem, not a procurement afterthought. Details on deal sizes, chip volumes and supplier terms remain unreported. Until they surface, the scale of the commitment is unknowable.

Why are VCs buying chips at all?

Advanced AI accelerators have been scarce and expensive since the current boom began. Startups without incumbent relationships often wait in line behind the largest buyers. A VC firm that controls allocation can hand its portfolio a resource competitors must bid for.

That is the logic. What the headline does not say is whether either firm has actually locked supply, at what price, or from which manufacturer. The Information's framing — a "race" — signals urgency, not a completed transaction. Readers should treat the effort as underway and its outcome as open.

What does this change for founders?

If a16z and General Catalyst succeed, compute becomes a differentiator in their deal terms. Founders choosing between investors may weigh guaranteed chips alongside valuation. Rivals without similar access could face pressure to build their own arrangements.

The caveat: no source in the report quantifies how much compute either firm controls, so any founder-level advantage is, for now, a claim without a number attached.

Who else is exposed?

Every AI startup outside these portfolios still has to buy chips the traditional way. If the largest VC firms begin hoarding allocation, the open market tightens further for everyone else. That risk runs in one direction only — toward scarcity.

The takeaway

Two top-tier venture firms are treating chip access as a competitive necessity for their portfolios; whether they have secured it, and at what cost, is the question the report leaves unanswered.