Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives

2025-12-26 · 20 min · episode 1000 · 22 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ references A16z Podcast podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711
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Feed author/publisher: Andreessen Horowitz
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→ discusses Entrepreneurship concept

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→ hosted by a16z company

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Feed author/publisher: a16z
→ references Big Ideas 2026 Part 1 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-1
→ references Big Ideas 2026 Part 2 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-2
→ references Big Ideas 2026 Part 3 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-3
→ references Big Ideas Things Excited About Crypto website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/big-ideas-things-excited-about-crypto-2026

Entities found in this episode

concepts 9

mentioned Science concept

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mentioned Technology concept

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mentioned Business concept

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mentioned Entrepreneurship concept

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mentioned New Infrastructure Primitives concept

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Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives
discusses Science concept

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discusses Technology concept

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discusses Business concept

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Feed category: Business
discusses Entrepreneurship concept

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Feed category: Entrepreneurship

websites 8

mentioned Big Ideas 2026 Part 1 website

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Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-1
mentioned Big Ideas 2026 Part 2 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-2
mentioned Big Ideas 2026 Part 3 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-3
mentioned Big Ideas Things Excited About Crypto website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/big-ideas-things-excited-about-crypto-2026
references Big Ideas 2026 Part 1 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-1
references Big Ideas 2026 Part 2 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-2
references Big Ideas 2026 Part 3 website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-3
references Big Ideas Things Excited About Crypto website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/big-ideas-things-excited-about-crypto-2026

podcasts 2

mentioned A16z Podcast podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711
references A16z Podcast podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Big Ideas 2026: New Infrastructure Primitives": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711

persons 2

mentioned Andreessen Horowitz person

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Feed author/publisher: Andreessen Horowitz
hosted by Andreessen Horowitz person

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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Andreessen Horowitz

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hosted by a16z company

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Feed author/publisher: a16z

Episode description as stored

New infrastructure primitives are creating entirely new rails for building. In this episode of Big Ideas 2026, we explore three foundational shifts that unlock new markets and workflows, not through incremental upgrades, but through primitives that compound over time. First, programmable money evolves beyond stablecoins into on-chain credit origination and synthetic financial products, offering lower operational costs and greater composability than traditional finance. Second, autonomy begins entering scientific research through collaborative labs, where AI reasoning models work alongside automation and robotics, and interpretability becomes essential for progress. Third, distribution itself becomes a primitive, as AI-native startups win early by selling to other startups at formation, then scale alongside the next generation of companies. You will hear from Guy Willette on the next phase of on-chain finance, Oliver Shu on autonomous labs and AI-assisted discovery, and James da Costa on the greenfield go-to-market strategy. Together, these ideas define what new infrastructure primitives really mean: the rails that enable entirely new systems to emerge, compound, and scale. Resources: Read more all of our 2026 Big Ideas Part 1: https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-1 Part 2: https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-2/ Part 3: https://a16z.com/newsletter/big-ideas-2026-part-3/ Crypto Big Ideas: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/big-ideas-things-excited-about-crypto-2026/ Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.