a16z Hires Columbia Professor Tim Roughgarden As Head Of Research

Crypto venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is investing heavily in the core research of the industry. Recently, it hired Colombia Professor Tim Roughgarden as Head of Research for its crypto research unit.

About Columbia University Professor Tim Roughgarden

Tim Roughgarden, a theoretical computer scientist and Columbia University professor, will lead the “a16z Crypto Research” team. Roughgarden’s resume includes a 14-year stint at Stanford and more than three years as a computer science professor at Columbia University in New York. 

Since February 2021, he has served as a research partner at a16z. In addition, the firm has highlighted Roughgarden’s skills in computer science, research, and economics. Furthermore, his crypto and blockchain course at Columbia was cited as the “best and most popular” introduction to crypto. Moreover, Roughgarden was among the first to provide a formal study of Ethereum’s EIP-1559 fee mechanism upgrade.

a16z Crypto Research Team

According to a16z, the research team will establish a multidisciplinary lab collaborating with its portfolio firms and others. Thus, it aims to solve “the important problems in the space,” develop Web3 science and technology and increase user adoption.

As one of the most active crypto venture capital firms, a16z reportedly has around $9 billion worth of funds. According to Roughgarden’s claim, its funding into crypto research will grow by “many multiples of the next couple of years.”

According to the firm, “new entrepreneurial ideas for a Web3 application or protocol tend to uncover fresh research challenges” that are critical for solidifying the future of blockchain and crypto.