The Firm Writing AI’s Rules — and Betting Against Us

Marc Andreessen’s firm, a16z, is spending tens of millions to keep AI regulation loose — a $100M super PAC, ex-partners in government, and an executive order targeting state AI laws. But what’s it actually investing in? We walk through The Midas Project’s survey of 18 of the firm’s most notorious bets: a bot farm flooding TikTok with fake influencers, an app built to normalize cheating, gambling startups exploiting legal loopholes, a chatbot company sued after a teen’s suicide, a deepfake platform that filed 178 reports of AI-generated child abuse material, and fintech collapses that left customers’ money missing. The through-line: a firm that treats trust and safety as “the enemy” — while lobbying to make sure no one can stop it.

Based on Tyler Johnston’s repor ...