Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, will invest in setting up a two-year education institute as an alternative to college, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

According to the report, a16z will invest $35 million in the Horowitz Andersen Academy to be established in San Francisco. It will target students aged 16 to 22. It will be an unaccredited program and will be run by an independent entity led by Gagan Biyani (가간 비야니), a co-founder of Udemy.

Horowitz Andersen Academy will have Anthropic, Google, Meta Platforms, Nvidia and OpenAI as founding partners. The companies will provide software and computing resources and open their offices as learning spaces.

The academy will begin accepting applications for its first cohort this week. The first cohort will take a one-year program for free from the autumn of 2027. The two-year full program will begin in 2028 after regulatory approval. Tuition will be at the level of elite private universities.

Biyani said, "The goal is to build an AI-focused education so students can get jobs at top tech companies or start their own businesses."

Students will spend up to 80 percent of class time on projects such as developing AI models, building products and interviewing industry experts. They will also have opportunities to take part in internships at the companies joining as founding partners. The curriculum includes aerospace and defence, AI research, health, and writing and culture, and instructors will not be required to have traditional teaching qualifications.

a16z expected the Horowitz Andersen Academy to help it secure next-generation tech talent early. Erik Torenberg (에릭 토렌버그), an a16z partner joining the board, said, "We will end up investing in some founders who come out of the academy."

Ben Horowitz (벤 호로위츠), a co-founder of a16z, said college remained a good choice for most students but that it no longer suited some.

John Friedman (존 프리드먼), dean of Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, said opportunities to meet industry leaders were a clear advantage but that it was also important to have an environment with proven schools, experienced teachers and classmates with different career paths.