Alex Rampell is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he leads its Apps practice. He previously co-founded businesses including TrialPay and Affirm and now studies how AI changes software, commerce and payments.[1][2][3]
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Career
Rampell co-founded TrialPay, acquired by Visa in 2015, and Affirm with Max Levchin. His employer biography also lists founding roles at Point, FraudEliminator, TXN and Yub. He joined Andreessen Horowitz in 2015 and holds a BA in applied mathematics and computer science from Harvard. His experience spans businesses that connect a customer’s intent with a commercial transaction.[1]
Ideas
When an assistant can pay
With Terry Angelos, Rampell examines wallet connections, payment tokens and consumer protections. The discussion distinguishes a payment credential from authority to buy, and considers how an agent preserves the customer–merchant relationship.[2]
Software that performs work
Software is Eating Labor explores the shift from tools that help a person carry out a task toward software that executes more of the task itself. Rampell’s investment perspective asks how that changes product markets and the economic value of software. It is a thesis about technology and businesses, rather than evidence that every workflow can already be automated.[3]
Tools, writing & talks
Writing, research & talks
Start here
Agent purchases, wallets, tokens and consumer protections.
Start with payment credentials versus authority to buy, consumer examples. No payments background is needed.
Host and interviewer[2]Original source- Software is Eating Labora16z.com
A discussion of AI software that carries out work and its implications for product markets.
Speaker[3]