The a16z Show
The Ben & Marc Show: China Has Scale. Can America Catch Up?
The a16z Show discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This show is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!
Show Notes
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Ben, Marc, and Erik Torenberg are joined by Brian Schimpf, Co-Founder & CEO of Anduril, and Chris Power, Founder & CEO of Hadrian. Together, they dig into America’s defense production gap: why the U.S. can out-innovate but not out-produce—and what it will take to turn that around.
They discuss why U.S. war games show we run out of munitions in a week, the myth of “exquisite-only” systems, how to rebuild industrial capacity with software-led automation, financing factories like data centers, and what it takes to create real deterrence in a Taiwan scenario.
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Introduction
Technical Superiority vs. Industrial Scale
The Decline of US Manufacturing
Challenges in Onshoring & Skilled Labor
Supply Chains & Rare Earths
Automation, Software, and Catching Up
Complexity of Modern Production
Strategic Policy & Industrial Planning
Regulatory Barriers & State vs. Federal Roles
Talent, Data Centers, and Financial Engineering
China’s Industrial Policy & US Response
US Manufacturing, National Security, and the China Challenge
Demographics, Long-Term Outlook, and Closing Thoughts
Resources:
Find Chris on X: https://x.com/chris_power
Find Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschimpf/
Marc on X: https://x.com/pmarca
Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/
Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz
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Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/
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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.
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