Jonathan Lai
Jonathan Lai
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Hey, it's Jon, thanks for stopping by.
I'm a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where I lead our investment team focused on a16z Speedrun as well as the Games vertical. I believe AI is redefining how we socialize, play, and work, and am excited to invest in the next generation of AI-native consumer apps and enterprise tools.
Prior to a16z, I was a senior director at Tencent where I led the North America investments team and spearheaded the launch of our WeGame platform for Western games in China. Before that, I was a product manager at Riot Games (acquired by Tencent), where we developed League of Legends, the world's most played PC game. I also served as head of product for Dots, a mobile games start-up that was acquired by Take-Two. HBS MBA and Harvard BA.
A few things I love: sweet tea, good sake, Imagine Dragons, TFT, Dark Souls, my amazing wife Jen, and our brood of voracious Zerglings: Asher, Aiden, & Yellow Kitty.
Writings, Apps, Podcasts
Writings, Apps, Podcasts
The best consumer, enterprise, & fintech apps today embrace game design
AI is enabling a foundational shift in creative storytelling & new content formats
We're on the precipice of seeing new categories of AI-first games
Speedrun RFS: AI agents for creative work - think Cursor for storytelling
Speedrun RFS: AI characters in cozy games and simulations
A new generation of instant games is changing how we play, discover, and develop games
The next big innovation in social play will likely come from tabletop games (D&D, Mafia, etc)
AI-led creation will lead to new content types and social modalities in the Metaverse
A new class of creators is emerging as the future of live video entertainment
The promise of cloud gaming lies in software - unique, cloud-native experiences
What's the next Facebook or Snapchat? Look to games to lead the way
Why a16z has started a dedicated games fund and what we invest in (pod)
Half a billion people played the party game Among Us in Nov, what's going on? (pod)
How games have evolved from entertainment into social networks today (pod)
Lessons learned as a PM at Riot Games & Tencent and what I look for as an investor
Both livestreaming and gaming are up massively amidst COVID-19 (pod)
When does play-to-earn and real money trading work in games? (tweetstorm)
Play-to-earn has introduced a new endgame: the management sim (tweetstorm)
In web3, virtual economist will be one of the most in-demand jobs of our time (tweetstorm)
Steam releases in China officially and Epic has a tool for creating digital humans (pod)
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