Andreessen Horowitz raises $1.1 billion for AI infrastructure fund

Andreessen Horowitz has raised $1.1 billion for a new fund focused on artificial intelligence infrastructure, Bloomberg reported.

The Machine Age Fund will invest in chips, memory, networking, storage, data centers, robotics and home appliances, according to the firm. It is separate from the firm’s $15 billion venture fund raised earlier this year.

General partner Raghu Raghuram said the fund responds to demand for more physical technology to support AI startups. The fund will primarily back early-stage companies while reserving some capital for more mature businesses.

Raghuram said hardware startups require larger initial investments because they must turn designs into working chip or networking-system prototypes.

The fund comes as AI workloads increase demand for computing capacity and expose bottlenecks in hardware and supply chains. Andreessen Horowitz has also backed hardware companies including Unconventional AI and Mind Robotics.