Fifteen years after Marc Andreessen declared “software is eating the world,” Andreessen Horowitz is pivoting toward hardware with a new dedicated fund. The firm has raised $1.1 billion for its Machine Age fund, targeting investments in artificial-intelligence processors, memory chips, networking equipment, data storage, and robotics.

Raghu Raghuram, a general partner who previously led VMware, will oversee investments alongside Martin Casado and other partners. “The simplistic way to think about it is things that are within the four walls of the data center, this fund would do,” said Raghuram, who started his career at Netscape working alongside Andreessen.

While Andreessen Horowitz has previously backed hardware companies like Space X and Anduril, Casado noted that hardware was never a main focus. That is changing as AI infrastructure faces growing bottlenecks. “Every aspect of the hardware supply chain is capacity constrained, from chips to memory all the way down to power,” Casado said.

The launch reflects broader VC interest in AI infrastructure, with semiconductor and autonomous-machine startups raising roughly $100 billion over the past year. Recent exits, including Cerebras’ IPO and Groq’s $20 billion licensing deal with Nvidia, have fueled enthusiasm for the sector.