Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 13, 1966 London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, author, blogger |
| Known for | Co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz; former CEO of Opsware |
| Notable work | The Hard Thing About Hard Things; What You Do Is Who You Are |
Benjamin Abraham Horowitz (born June 13, 1966) is a prominent American entrepreneur, investor, author, and blogger. He is known as a technology innovator and is the co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz alongside Marc Andreessen. Prior to this, Horowitz co-established and led as president and CEO the enterprise software company Opsware, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2007. He has written two notable books on business and startups: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers and What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture.
Early life
Born in London, England, Benjamin Abraham Horowitz was raised in Berkeley, California. He is the son of Elissa Krauthamer and David Horowitz, a conservative author. His heritage traces back to Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors who emigrated from the Russian Empire. Horowitz completed his undergraduate studies with a BA in computer science from Columbia University in 1988 and earned an MS in computer science from UCLA in 1990.
Career
Horowitz’s professional journey began in 1990 as an engineer at Silicon Graphics. By 1995, he joined Marc Andreessen at Netscape, initially serving as a product manager and later advancing to vice president overseeing the Directory and Security Product Line. Following Netscape’s acquisition by AOL in 1998, Horowitz took on the role of Vice President for AOL’s eCommerce Division.
In September 1999, Horowitz co-launched Loudcloud with Andreessen, Tim Howes, and In Sik Rhee. Loudcloud specialized in providing infrastructure and application hosting solutions for enterprise customers such as Ford Motor Company, Nike, Inc., Gannett Company, News Corporation, and the United States Army. The company went public on March 9, 2001.
By June 2002, Horowitz pivoted Loudcloud’s focus to enterprise software under the new name Opsware. The managed services segment of Loudcloud was sold to Electronic Data Systems for $63.5 million in cash, with all associated revenue streams transferred to EDS while Opsware remained publicly traded. Opsware secured EDS as its initial software client and grew its customer base to hundreds of enterprises, achieving over $100 million in yearly revenue with a workforce of 550 employees. In July 2007, Hewlett-Packard acquired Opsware for $1.6 billion in cash.
Throughout Loudcloud and Opsware’s operations, Horowitz held the positions of President and CEO. Opsware’s stock price experienced significant fluctuations—initially priced at $6 per share during its IPO, dropping to a low of $0.35, then rising to $14.25 at the time of HP’s acquisition.
Following the sale to Hewlett-Packard, Horowitz spent a year there as Vice President and General Manager within HP Software, managing a team of 3,000 employees and overseeing $2.8 billion in annual revenue.
Andreessen Horowitz
On July 6, 2009, Horowitz partnered with Andreessen to establish Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in and mentoring early-stage startups as well as growth-stage technology enterprises. The firm launched with an initial capital of $300 million and expanded rapidly to manage $2.7 billion across three investment funds within three years.
Bibliography
- Horowitz, Ben (2014). The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, Harper Business.
- Horowitz, Ben (2019). What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture, Harper Business.
Personal life
Horowitz lives in Las Vegas alongside his spouse, Felicia Wiley Horowitz. The couple wed in 1988 and are parents to three children.
In July 2024, Horowitz revealed contributions to super PACs supporting Donald Trump's campaign for president. Yet by October 2024, both he and his wife committed to making "substantial" donations to organizations endorsing Kamala Harris, referencing a friendship spanning ten years. Early in 2025, Horowitz provided $3 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC advocating for Trump.