a16z vs. Accel: Inside the Silicon Valley Scout Arms Race

When Sequoia Capital launched its scout program in 2009, few imagined it would trigger an industry-wide arms race. But by 2017, two of Silicon Valley's most ambitious firms — Andreessen Horowitz and Accel — had both entered the arena with their own programs, each designed to extend their reach into founder communities that no partner meeting could access.

Today, their combined scout networks have sourced over 400 companies at the earliest stages. Here's how each program works, where they differ, and why founders should care.

Andreessen Horowitz: The Global Intelligence Network

Origins and Evolution

Andreessen Horowitz quietly launched its U.S. scout program in 2017, initially as an experiment to extend the firm's reach into nascent founder circles that traditional partners rarely see. What began as a small domestic effort has evolved into a global network of eyes and ears spanning dozens of operators across North America, Latin America, Africa, and — most visibly — Europe, where the scout roster surpassed 20 active scouts by 2025.

The logic was pure a16z: if the firm's competitive advantage is its network, then the scout program is that network's most aggressive expansion.