Early Life and Education
Marc Andreessen was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and raised in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. He showed an early interest in computer programming, teaching himself BASIC to create games. This led him to pursue computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), where he earned a bachelor's degree in December 1993. During his undergraduate studies, he interned at IBM in Austin, Texas, and at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC.
Rise to Success
Andreessen's career took off in 1993 when he co-authored Mosaic, the first widely used web browser, while working at NCSA. The browser's user-friendly interface revolutionized the World Wide Web, making it accessible to a broader audience. Following the success of Mosaic, Andreessen co-founded Netscape Communications Corporation in April 1994. Netscape's initial public offering (IPO) in 1995 brought Andreessen into the public eye. Netscape was later acquired by AOL in 1998 for $4.3 billion. Subsequently, Andreessen co-founded Opsware in 1999, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2007 for $1.6 billion.
Key Business Strategies
Andreessen's business acumen is most evident in his venture capital endeavors. In 2009, he co-founded Andreessen Horowitz with Ben Horowitz. The firm has become one of the most successful venture capital firms in the world, investing in high-growth tech companies. Andreessen Horowitz's investments span various sectors, including software, biotech, and crypto. The firm has made significant investments in companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Coinbase, contributing significantly to Andreessen's wealth.
Philanthropy
Marc Andreessen, along with his partners at Andreessen Horowitz, pledged to donate half of their lifetime income from venture capital activities to charity.