a16z Research Intern at a16z Frontier to pursue fundamental research on emerging technologies and collaborate with investment and engineering teams. Focus areas include AI, cryptography, hardware design, economics, and more.
Responsibilities
a16z Frontier research is a multidisciplinary lab that bridges the worlds of academic theory and industry practice. The lab has recently expanded its focus from crypto-focused research to include other emerging areas of technology, ranging from AI-enabled applications to new scientific developments in materials, energy, and hardware. In addition to fundamental research, we collaborate with portfolio companies to solve hard technical and conceptual problems. Research interns will have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with the firm’s investment and engineering teams.
We are seeking students with a strong technical background and an interest in emerging technologies to join the group for the summer. Example research areas of interest include AI and machine learning, agentic commerce, cryptography, security, distributed computing, hardware design, economics (micro, macro, and empirical), energy, material science, biology, incentives, quantitative finance, market and mechanism design, foundations of computing, and pure mathematics. This list is not exhaustive and we encourage applicants with different backgrounds, who may have unique perspectives on the emerging technologies, to apply.
We anticipate selecting a wide range of applicants, including ambitious undergraduate students with a unique grasp of emerging technologies, graduate students looking to transition from academic work to building and entrepreneurship, and PhD students pursuing a more traditional academic career.
This role will be based in New York City, NY and requires in-office presence in our New York City, NY office.
To join our team, you should be excited to:
Pursue fundamental research on topics relevant to the firm.
Collaborate with a16z Frontier’s full-time researchers and other student interns.
Collaborate with portfolio companies on technical research problems.
Quickly develop expertise in emerging areas of science and technology.
Take full advantage of the latest generation of AI tools.
Contribute to blog posts, white papers, and other public expository content.
Meet with visitors from academia and industry and attend research seminars.
Qualification
PassionateInternship DetailsDuration of internship June 1
Preferred
Pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a relevant field such as computer science, economics, mathematics, operations research, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.
Passionate, knowledgeable, and optimistic about science and technology.
Experience with absorbing and producing fundamental research.
Internship Details
A typical schedule will have an intern spending 2⁄3 of the time pursuing their own research (typically in collaboration with other lab members and visitors) and 1⁄3 of the time collaborating on portfolio-related problems.
In-person residency required in New York, NY.
Interns will have access to and will typically make heavy use of the latest AI tools.
Duration of internship June 1, 2027 – August 20, 2027 (minimum residency 10 weeks, maximum 12 weeks).
