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Venture capitalists at Andreessen Horowitz are discussing plans to pull back from its much-touted expansion into the UK, as the Silicon Valley investor seeks to refocus on the US crypto industry following the election of Donald Trump.
The group made a high-profile entry into London in 2023, opening its first office outside the US with a focus on the UK’s cryptocurrency industry amid a crackdown on digital assets by American regulators.
Two people with knowledge of recent discussions said the venture capital firm had signalled to local entrepreneurs and policymakers it would scale back the time and money it intended to invest in the country.
The partner originally tapped to lead the UK effort, Sriram Krishnan, stepped away from his London-based role last year before leaving the company altogether to join the Trump administration in recent weeks.
More broadly the firm has pivoted its focus on crypto dealmaking to the US, where it sees more opportunities to invest, the people said. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the firm’s founders, have become supporters of Trump, while advising him on tech policy.
Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to requests for comment.
The switch comes as Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at promoting cryptocurrencies in the US and working towards potentially developing a national digital asset stockpile.
Prices in tokens such as bitcoin have soared since Trump’s election, under a belief the new administration would advocate light touch regulation of the crypto sector.
Andreessen Horowitz opened its London office with official fanfare two years ago, with then prime minister Rishi Sunak saying he was “thrilled” at the group’s arrival, and that the move was a “testament to our world-class universities and talent and our strong competitive business environment”.
At the time, Andreessen Horowitz, which has $43bn of committed capital, made much of its push into the UK, having invested in a number of UK-based crypto companies including Arweave, Aztec and Improbable.
“London is a major financial hub, it’s a major tech hub and frankly it’s a very attractive place for people to live,” Chris Dixon, who leads Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto investments, said to the Financial Times in 2023.
One UK official downplayed the US investor’s reduced ambitions in the country, saying: “They were never really here.”
“The UK [Andreessen Horowitz] investments I know of were all led from the US.”
Andreessen partners are still looking for deals in the UK, but often they are visiting from the US, according to other venture capitalists.
