Students and Universities
Horowitz Andreessen Academy: A Build-First Idea Campuses Can Already Run
a16z's new academy bets on learning by building. It is an idea NELL has been bringing into coursework for some time. Here is how any campus can run it now.
NELL AI Labs · For students and universities
Build-first learning,
on every campus.
Real projects, real users and a founder path, inside the degree a student already has.
- Explore
- Test
- Build
- Prove
- Found
On September 22, 2026, Andreessen Horowitz announced the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a full-time, in-person school in San Francisco for young people coming out of high school. The announcement opens with one line worth reading twice:
“The internet made it possible to know anything. AI makes it possible to do anything.” Andreessen Horowitz, announcing the Academy
It is a line we recognise. Learning by building, rather than by collecting credentials, is the idea NELL's student and university programs have been built around for some time, and it is good to see it reach a wider audience. This post looks at what the Academy sets out to do, and how any campus can offer students the same kind of experience without a move to San Francisco.
Key takeaways
- a16z's new Academy is organised around three things: Pursuits (personal projects and startup ideas), Courses from practitioners, and Co-ops (real work during the year).
- The idea underneath it is simple: in the AI era, proof of doing matters more than proof of knowing.
- Most students will never join a founding class in San Francisco. The model can still reach them, inside the degree they already have.
- NELL has been bringing each of these into coursework: the Student Playbook for projects, a Learn section for fundamentals, logged conversations with real users and buyers, and a 12-week Venture Execution Curriculum for university cohorts.
What is the Horowitz Andreessen Academy?
The Horowitz Andreessen Academy (HAA) is a residential program in San Francisco for young builders aged 16 to 22, backed by a16z. According to the launch release, it is a two-year program, and applications are open for its first class.
The student experience has three parts:
| Part | What it means at HAA |
|---|---|
| Co-ops | Work during the year, not only over the summer, with partner companies |
| Courses | Taught by practitioners, plus life skills like negotiation |
| Pursuits | Personal projects, quests and startup ideas that students workshop with coaches and mentors |
Why does this matter for students and universities?
Because the gap between learning and doing is closing, and the institutions that close it will produce the strongest builders. When anyone can produce working software with AI, a certificate stops being rare. What stays rare is a student who found a real problem, shipped something for it and can show what real people did with it.
Proof of knowing
- A certificate or a course grade
- A list of modules completed
- A toy project built to a brief
- “Familiar with AI tools” on a résumé
Proof of doing
- A live product a stranger can open and use
- Logged conversations with real users
- Active testers and feedback-driven iterations
- A public case study and repository
The Academy's announcement also describes college as “a low-stakes environment to test not just ideas but collaborators.” It is a point we have long worked from. Universities already have that environment. What most lack is a structure that turns a group project into a shipped product with evidence behind it.
That structure is what NELL has been building with students and campuses.
How can a campus run build-first learning today?
Most of it does not need a new institution. It needs every student to end the term with a real project, real user evidence and the fundamentals to explain both, which is what NELL's programs have been set up to do.
The same ingredients, on any campus
Each part has a campus version a student can do this term, and NELL runs each one today.
| The Academy | NELL on campus | What the student keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Pursuits | Student Playbook: one problem the student lives with, shipped in one term | A product with a live URL and a public repository |
| Courses | Learn section: the concepts underneath what they built, and the questions they will be asked about them | The ability to defend every choice in an interview |
| Co-ops | Real users and buyers: 10+ logged conversations, 5+ active testers | Evidence counted from records, not self-reported |
| Group projects | Cohort teams: one idea per team, an assessed Demo Day | A tested co-founder relationship |
Students build in the tools they already use. NELL writes the build brief in each tool's own format, for example CLAUDE.md for Claude Code, AGENTS.md for Codex or .cursorrules for Cursor. The brief also names the parts a student must write themselves, so they understand their own project. The repository and the accounts stay theirs.
Where does NELL fit in a student's curriculum?
NELL fits wherever a course already asks for a project. It turns that project into something with users and evidence behind it.
| Where in the degree | How NELL is used |
|---|---|
| Final-year project or CS capstone | The Student Playbook replaces a toy brief with a real problem, a build spec and a user evidence ladder |
| Entrepreneurship or business school course | IdeaBank and Quick Validate for the opportunity analysis, then the 12-week curriculum for execution |
| Any major (nursing, law, design, engineering) | Students start from a pain they know from their own field, where their knowledge is an advantage |
| Career services and campus incubators | A shareable completion record that shows an employer or grant panel what the student actually did |
What does the student-to-founder journey look like?
Five stages. Each one produces something the student keeps, and the first three cost nothing to start.
From coursework to company, one path
Each stage produces something a student keeps: evidence, a product, a record.
- ExploreIdeaBank brief, AI Idea GeneratorTrends, pains and buyers in a field you knowFree
- TestQuick ValidateA scored first read and the biggest unknownFree
- BuildStudent PlaybookA shipped product, user evidence and a completion recordFirst one free
- Prove12-Week Venture Execution CurriculumReal buyers, a graded build review and an assessed Demo DayPer cohort
- FoundDeepValidate, GTM, Pro BuilderSourced validation and a 21-section go-to-market plan
- Explore. An IdeaBank brief or the AI Idea Generator shows the trends, pains and buyers in a field the student knows. Free.
- Test. Quick Validate gives a scored first read of an idea and names its biggest unknown. Free.
- Build. The Student Playbook takes one idea to a shipped product in one term, with a week-by-week plan that works around exams. The first Playbook is free, no card.
- Prove. In a university cohort, the 12-Week Venture Execution Curriculum puts the product in front of real buyers.
- Found. For teams that keep going: DeepValidate (11 scored dimensions across 5 pillars, every claim sourced), a 21-section go-to-market strategy and Pro Builder.
What does a university get from the 12-week Venture Execution Curriculum?
A live curriculum the NELL team teaches with a university cohort over one term. Every week produces a named deliverable, and grading is on execution discipline.
One term, one idea per team, twelve deliverables
Two halves, two assessed milestones.
Weeks 1 to 6: Lock and Build
Idea lock, then ICP validation through 5+ real buyer conversations. Build spec, GTM motion, prototype, first outreach.
W6 · Graded build reviewWeeks 7 to 12: Execute and Prove
Proof pack, objection drills, compliance map, a proposal or LOI they send, one week of pipeline only, then the pitch.
W12 · Assessed Demo Day- Weeks 1 to 6, Lock and Build. Idea lock, then ICP validation through five or more real buyer conversations. Then a build spec, a chosen go-to-market motion, a working prototype and first outreach. Week 6 is a graded live build review.
- Weeks 7 to 12, Execute and Prove. A proof pack, objection drills, a compliance map, a proposal or letter of intent the team actually sends, and one week spent only on the pipeline. Then the pitch.
- Week 12 is Demo Day. A public, assessed review of the idea, the customer, the product, what the pipeline did and what the buyers who said no taught the team.
We make no revenue promises, and no grade depends on one. A signed pilot, a well-evidenced “almost” and a carefully documented dead end can all earn an A. After the term, teams that want to keep going get go-to-market operations support at a discounted student rate. The curriculum is priced per cohort.
What does a student have at the end?
Proof, not a certificate. The Student Playbook's completion standard has nine criteria, and six are counted from records kept as the work happened.
The completion record
6 of 9 criteria are counted from records kept as the work happened, not self-reported. Among them:
- One real product launched that a stranger can open and use
- 10 or more user conversations, logged as they happened
- 5 or more active testers
- Three product iterations driven by user feedback
- A public case study, a demo video and four to six build-in-public posts
- LinkedIn, GitHub, résumé and portfolio updated to point at the work
That record is what a professor can grade, an employer can check and a grant panel can trust.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Horowitz Andreessen Academy?
The Horowitz Andreessen Academy is a two-year, in-person program in San Francisco for young builders aged 16 to 22, launched by Andreessen Horowitz on September 22, 2026. Students combine co-ops at technology companies, courses taught by founders and investors, and personal projects called Pursuits.
Can students learn this way without going to San Francisco?
Yes, in large part. The parts that travel are a real project, real users and the fundamentals behind the build. NELL has been bringing those into existing coursework through the Student Playbook, and to whole cohorts through the 12-Week Venture Execution Curriculum.
How can a university student start a startup while studying?
Start from a problem you know from your own field, test it before you build, and ship the smallest version that solves it. NELL's Student Playbook turns that into a one-term plan with a weekly schedule that fits around exams. The first Playbook is free.
Is NELL free for students?
A student's first Playbook is free with no card required. IdeaBank briefs, Quick Validate and refining an existing Playbook also stay free. Further Playbooks come in small one-time packs, not a subscription.
Does NELL build the project for the student?
No. NELL writes the build brief and the student builds it in their own tool, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Replit, Lovable, Bolt or v0. The brief names the parts the student must write themselves, and the repository stays theirs.
How do universities bring NELL to a cohort?
Through the 12-Week Venture Execution Curriculum, which is priced per cohort. Professors, department heads, career services teams and student club leaders can enquire through the university program page. Every student in the cohort gets the full NELL toolkit for the term.
Is NELL affiliated with Andreessen Horowitz or the Horowitz Andreessen Academy?
No. NELL AI Labs is independent. We wrote this because learning by building is the idea our student and university programs have long been built around.
Start where you are
The Academy will take one founding class. Every campus already has students with the same drive, and they should not need to move to get the chance to build. NELL has been giving students that chance, and would be glad to do it on your campus.
Sources
- Andreessen Horowitz, Incubating The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, September 22, 2026
- GlobeNewswire, Horowitz Andreessen Academy Launches in San Francisco for the World's Most Ambitious Young Builders, September 22, 2026
NELL AI Labs is independent and is not affiliated with Andreessen Horowitz or the Horowitz Andreessen Academy. Names are used only to describe and reference their public announcement.