Key Takeaways
- • Andreessen Horowitz is in talks to expand its compute capacity, which includes a cluster of about 20,000 GPUs built two years ago, through infrastructure companies Switch and Volta, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Information.
- • General Catalyst hired former Nvidia cloud executive Alexis Black Björlin as chief strategy officer in May and is reportedly securing a data centre to serve portfolio companies from early stage to growth.
- • Top venture firms are shifting from helping portfolio companies locate GPUs to controlling compute directly, with access to compute becoming part of what VCs sell to founders alongside capital and networks.
- • Driver of the trend is renewed GPU scarcity after hyperscalers diverted chips to their own teams and largest customers.
- • Size, financing and profit expectations of the expansions remain undisclosed, and the a16z and GC plans rest largely on unnamed sources.
Summary
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and General Catalyst are moving beyond brokering GPU access for their portfolio companies and are increasingly lining up compute capacity themselves, according to reporting by The Information published 12 October 2026. A16z built a cluster of about 20,000 GPUs two years ago, initially called Oxygen and later supplemented by several private clusters, and is in talks to expand that capacity through Switch and Volta, two infrastructure companies it has backed. Capacity the portfolio does not use could be resold. An a16z spokesperson said on the record that the firm helps founders find compute, negotiate contracts and secure special pricing.
General Catalyst is pursuing a similar strategy. The firm hired former Nvidia cloud executive Alexis Black Björlin as chief strategy officer in May and is securing a data centre to serve portfolio companies from early stage through growth, two people told The Information. CEO Hemant Taneja had previously surveyed founders about their compute needs.
The reporting frames the trend as a response to GPU scarcity, which has returned after hyperscalers diverted chips to their own internal teams and largest customers. Access to compute is becoming part of what venture firms offer founders, alongside capital and networks. The moves are not isolated. Coatue has joint ventures with Fluidstack under its Next Frontier program, Crucible Capital operates a 576-chip Nvidia B300 cluster with part of it sold to a frontier lab, Sriram Krishnan's Kearny Jackson has pooled AMD MI350 chips, and San Francisco Compute founder Evan Conrad is building VC-controlled clusters.
Several material details remain unclear. The size of the expansions, how they would be financed and whether the firms expect to profit from them have not been disclosed. The a16z and General Catalyst plans rest on unnamed sources, and only the a16z spokesperson's general description has been placed on the record.
General Catalyst is pursuing a similar strategy. The firm hired former Nvidia cloud executive Alexis Black Björlin as chief strategy officer in May and is securing a data centre to serve portfolio companies from early stage through growth, two people told The Information. CEO Hemant Taneja had previously surveyed founders about their compute needs.
The reporting frames the trend as a response to GPU scarcity, which has returned after hyperscalers diverted chips to their own internal teams and largest customers. Access to compute is becoming part of what venture firms offer founders, alongside capital and networks. The moves are not isolated. Coatue has joint ventures with Fluidstack under its Next Frontier program, Crucible Capital operates a 576-chip Nvidia B300 cluster with part of it sold to a frontier lab, Sriram Krishnan's Kearny Jackson has pooled AMD MI350 chips, and San Francisco Compute founder Evan Conrad is building VC-controlled clusters.
Several material details remain unclear. The size of the expansions, how they would be financed and whether the firms expect to profit from them have not been disclosed. The a16z and General Catalyst plans rest on unnamed sources, and only the a16z spokesperson's general description has been placed on the record.
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