The Harsh Truth About Building a Startup in the AI Era | Anish Acharya

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Anish Acharya, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, who has spent many years at the frontier of consumer products — from early days at Google to building startups to now backing the founders shaping the next decade of software.

We’re living through the fastest product cycle in tech history, and Anish breaks down why right now is the best moment in history to build a consumer company — and why the next 1,000 days could mint multiple 100M-user startups.

In this episode, we explore:

* The return of consumer tech — why consumer was “boring” for a decade, and why AI has reopened one of the biggest windows of opportunity since the iPhone.

* Voice as an industry, not a feature — the surprising reason voice is becoming the primary insertion point for AI in enterprises, and how we’ll soon see agents handling a company’s most important calls.

* AI-native social networks — why the next Instagram won’t look like Instagram at all, and what a social network built around software, models, and creativity might unlock.

* The rise of consumer-built software — Anish explains why millions of non-technical users will soon build mini-apps, agents, and tools — and why everyday consumers are increasingly willing to spend $200 per month on AI tools.

* The fundraising playbook for 2026 — how founders should think about raising, why “raising as much as you can” is usually a trap, and the signals investors actually pay attention to.

Plus much more! This is one of the clearest breakdowns of the AI consumer landscape you’ll hear all year. Grab a notebook and enjoy the episode!

Also available on Apple Podcasts // Spotify

Episode Chapters

(0:00) Intro

(2:00) What is a16z?

(6:40) What Is Happening Across AI

(8:42) The Traps Founders Are Falling Into

(12:21) The Next 1000 Days For AI

(16:25) The State of Consumer Tech Right Now

(24:09) The New Distribution Model For Consumer Startups

(25:52) The Future of Voice

(31:15) The Creator Economy and What Comes Next

(37:42) AI Wrappers & AI Models Copying Startups

(41:40) Why New Social Platforms Have Been Non-Existent

(45:57) Fundraising For Startups In This AI Market

(49:49) Anish’s Startup Ideas

Thanks for listening and see you in the next episode 👋

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