David Haber

General Partner @a16z. Previously: Firmwide Strategy @GoldmanSachs, Founder, CEO @onbondstreet and VC @SparkCapital. @Harvard biochem.

[David Haber @dhaber]

Marc Rowan has quietly built Apollo from a distressed-focused private equity firm into one of the most important financial institutions in the world, now managing over $1T in assets and becoming the largest provider of retirement income globally.

In this fantastic conversation we covered lessons at Drexel from Michael Milken, Apollo’s origin story from a cold call from France, why AI could outgrow venture equity, and Apollo’s “play to win” culture.

We also connected over our shared belief that “Opportunities live between fields of expertise.”

This was really fun, hope you enjoy! cc @apolloglobal

[a16z @a16z]

Financing the Global Industrial Renaissance with Apollo CEO Marc Rowan

Marc Rowan is CEO of Apollo Global Management, one of the most important financial institutions and the largest provider of retirement income in the world. In this conversation, he joins a16z's David Haber to discuss the story of Apollo, the state of public and private markets, how the AI revolution will be financed, and more.

00:00 Intro
00:52 Drexel, Milken & the origins of "clean sheet thinking"
04:55 The Apollo origin story: From unemployed to $6 billion
08:46 How Apollo became a trillion-dollar firm
13:00 Permanent capital, origination & why assets are the scarce resource
16:08 Democratizing private markets: Daily pricing & new capital channels
22:04 Where venture meets credit: Financing the industrial renaissance
30:01 AI, enterprise software & which jobs will be replaced or enhanced
38:52 Moral leadership: UPenn, merit & doing right over easy
46:02 Apollo's culture: Playing to win & building to outlast the founder

[David Haber @dhaber]

.@jesslionness' story hit me right in the chest -- raw, honest, and full of the fire that built this country.

My dad reminded me this morning of our own family’s journey: from my grandmother’s time in a Romanian labor camp during WWII, to where we stand today.

Different path, same spirit. That uniquely American one.

Proud to have you at @a16z, Jessica!

It's time to build! 🇺🇸💪

[Jéssica Leão @jesslionness]

https://t.co/cFMqmQY0rf

[Traded: Venture Capital @TradedVC]

If you're a VC, watch this to see @dhaber's top three most exciting companies he invested in with @a16z

[Luke Sophinos @lukesophinos]

Could the system of record become free?

@dhaber from Andreessen Horowitz with a very interesting take...

Full episode in the comments.

[David Haber @dhaber]

Cribbing from a @spolsky classic in “commoditizing your complements” when it comes to AI companies competing with the incumbent systems of record in their market.

[Rose Johnson @roseajohnson]

Full house for @dhaber (a16z GP) and @djacksonparker (co-founder/CEO @ Moment) at @FenwickWest. Loved hearing their advice on applying the founder mindset to build compounding advantages everywhere.

Several people furiously taking notes - always the sign of a good event!

[David Haber @dhaber]

@richardzphotoz You guys crushed this!

[David Haber @dhaber]

Great to have @SpeakerMenin as a champion for the NYC tech community. It’s time to build! cc @a16z

[Speaker Julie Menin @SpeakerMenin]

Kicked off @techweek_ today with a great conversation with @dhaber at City Hall about New York’s future as a global hub for tech and AI.

New York has always been a city that builds. To stay competitive, we need to invest in talent, support entrepreneurs, strengthen public-private partnerships, and ensure the next generation of great companies is built right here in New York City.

[Speaker Julie Menin @SpeakerMenin]

Kicked off @techweek_ today with a great conversation with @dhaber at City Hall about New York’s future as a global hub for tech and AI.

New York has always been a city that builds. To stay competitive, we need to invest in talent, support entrepreneurs, strengthen public-private partnerships, and ensure the next generation of great companies is built right here in New York City.

[MTS @MTSlive]

We asked @dhaber what makes New York the commerce hub for AI.

"Opportunities live between fields of expertise. Technology has a tendency to cut across industries."

"SF is where AI is built. New York is where AI becomes a business."

"You're not just selling technology into tech companies... you're selling it into healthcare, finance, media, advertising, fashion."

"It's those intersections that are uniquely New York. And there's probably no better place in the world to apply that technology than New York, given you have all these big companies right here in your backyard."

[Yuliya Chernova @ychernova]

NY City Council Speaker Julie Menin & a16z’s @dhaber kicked off NY Tech Week at City Hall today. The Speaker proposed a local Y Combinator, praised Cornell Tech & said NY officials shouldn’t use rhetoric that pushes businesses away. Background: the mayor’s spat w/ Ken Griffin

[David Haber @dhaber]

@JeffreyReitman @entropyVC Congrats my friend!

[David Haber @dhaber]

More on our investment here: https://t.co/456tl7bqd1

[David Haber @dhaber]

The way we design and construct buildings hasn't fundamentally changed since 1997.

Endra is bringing AI to the MEP industry - the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems that are among the most complex, most expensive, and most error-prone aspects of every project.

Thrilled to be backing Niklas, Anton, David, Gustav and the rest of the Endra team. The next generation for how we build is being built now. cc @joeschmidtiv

[Niklas Lindgren @niklaslindgrenn]

Today we're announcing that we've raised $50 million led by @a16z, bringing our total funding to $74 million over the last 12 months.

Anton, David, Gustav and I started Endra 18 months ago in an unheated wine cellar in Stockholm without any lights. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built so far and the team that has joined us since.

Endra is by far the most ambitious MEP engineering technology company ever existed. We're about to transform how millions of engineers who design our data centers, hospitals and homes work, and bring the future of how we design buildings to life.

I recently sat down with leaders in the industry in a conversation during two days in New York and London, to understand how the engineering organizations of the future look like, and how AI will fundamentally rewrite how they operate as a business. See the full conversation below.

This is by far the most exciting time of my career, and we're just getting started.

@joeschmidtiv, @dhaber and the whole @a16z team: kudos for believing in and supporting our crazy vision.

Excited to share what's next at our launch event in Las Vegas on September 14th. Spots are limited, so apply for access today. Link below.

[David Haber @dhaber]

The best founders don't end up in New York by accident. They come because this is where the hardest problems, the biggest customers, and the highest stakes are. The city demands you build something real.

I've always believed the best opportunities live between fields of expertise — not inside any single industry, but at the intersections. No city in the world has more intersections than New York. Finance and media. Healthcare and technology. The customers who need AI to actually work — banks, hospitals, newsrooms, asset managers — are all here, within a few miles of each other.

AI adoption is accelerating faster than any cycle I've seen. Per @PitchBook, AI is now 65% of NYC venture deal value, up from 16% six years ago. Early-stage funding hit $8.9B in 2025, up 50% in a year. Active unicorns: 32 in 2019, 159 today.

The infrastructure of a generational tech hub is being built in real time.

We're still early. The biggest deals haven't happened. The companies that define applied AI haven't been built.

The founders who build them will be ambitious. They'll want to be where the problems are.

They'll be here.

NY @Techweek_ starts today. Come build 🗽

[David Haber @dhaber]

@FarroYossi Mazal tov amigo!

[David Haber @dhaber]

@pmarca David vs. Goliath and now David has AI. 💪

[David Haber @dhaber]

Event details here: https://t.co/e584mWr29W

[David Haber @dhaber]

New York has always been a city that builds.

On Monday, I'm sitting down with NYC Council Speaker @JulieMenin in City Hall's Red Room to talk about what it takes to keep New York at the center of the AI economy — attracting the founders, investors, and talent who will define the next decade, and making sure the great companies of the future get built here.

Honored to be part of New York @Techweek_ , and to have this conversation in one of the most iconic rooms in the city.

June 1 | 12pm ET | City Hall, NYC Invite below.