The internet made distribution free. AI makes creation free. The platforms built on that new supply will be generative networks.
Some of the biggest companies the internet produced were networks built around a unit of media: 140 characters (Twitter), a photo (Instagram), a long-form video (YouTube), a short-form video (TikTok).
Each of these networks was supply constrained by how many people could make its unit. Anyone can write a tweet. Fewer people can make a good video. Almost no one can make a game, an app, a song or a film, so those never became networks. They remained industries.
AI unlocks that latent supply. It erodes the delta between what someone can imagine and create. Someone with taste and no professional training can now make an app, a game, a song, a short film, a business, a character, or a virtual world.
On a generative network, every output also becomes an input for someone else. Every song can be remixed, every game modded, every film recut. That creates a different kind of network effect. Old networks grew by adding creators. Generative networks grow by adding creations. Every new piece of media is raw material for the next one.
The biggest opportunities are likely where the gap between professionals and everyone else is widest, and demand already exists. Games, apps, music and film all have huge audiences and have always had very few creators. Just as YouTube and TikTok created careers that didn’t exist before, generative networks will surface the next game designers, musicians, and directors.
We’ll also see entirely new units of media. They’re hard to imagine today because they don’t fit the vocabulary we use to describe today’s media. It’s possible many of these emerging networks look more like multiplayer video games than traditional social platforms.
The opportunity for new networks is to surface this supply with the best AI tooling, then become the place where it lives and gets remixed. As Chris Dixon put succinctly back in 2015, users will come for the tool, stay for the network. And importantly, new networks have a structural advantage over incumbents. A playable game, a living world or a remixable song doesn’t fit a feed built for scrolling. New units will need new containers.
Cool things happened when distribution became free. I expect even cooler things will happen when creation does too.
The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the current or enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. 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 fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.