a16z Podcast
What makes a startup worth acquiring when software has never been easier to build? Salesforce’s John Somorjai says the answer goes well beyond technology: the best acquisitions can accelerate a product roadmap, bring in exceptional talent, and put a startup in front of 15,000 Salesforce sales reps almost overnight.
John joins a16z General Partner Alex Immerman to unpack the thinking behind nearly $100 billion in acquisitions during his tenure, from Slack and MuleSoft to a new generation of AI-native companies. They discuss Salesforce’s build-versus-buy framework, why outcome-based pricing is replacing seats in parts of enterprise software, and what founders should consider when deciding whether to sell.
John also shares what can kill a deal during diligence, why he thinks parts of today’s venture market are overvalued, and how Salesforce Ventures is expanding from enterprise software into frontier AI and robotics.
Resources:
Follow John Somorjai: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsomorjai/
Follow Alex Immerman: https://x.com/aleximm
Learn more about Salesforce Ventures:https://salesforceventures.com/
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube
Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
-
How AI Created the Fastest Product Cycle in History
Recently, a16z General Partner Anish Acharya joined Ollie Forsyth on NEW ECONOMIES. They talked about why consumer tech is surging again, how AI is enabling 100M-user products at unprecedented speed, and what founders need to…
-
Why AI Moats Still Matter (And How They’ve Changed)
a16z General Partners David Haber, Alex Rampell, and Erik Torenberg discuss why 19 out of 20 AI startups building the same thing will die – and why the survivor might charge $20,000 for what used…
-
How To Lead | Ben Horowitz on My First Million
A16Z co-founder Ben Horowitz joins Shaan Puri and Sam Parr on My First Million to talk about how to be a great leader. Â Resources: Follow Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz Follow Shaan on X: https://x.com/ShaanVP…
-
The $700 Billion AI Productivity Problem No One’s Talking About
Russ Fradin sold his first company for $300M. He’s back in the arena with Larridin, helping companies measure just how successful their AI actually is. In this episode, Russ sits down with a16z General Partner…
-
How OpenAI Builds for 800 Million Weekly Users: Model Specialization and Fine-Tuning
In this episode, a16z GP Martin Casado sits down with Sherwin Wu, Head of Engineering for the OpenAI Platform, to break down how OpenAI organizes its platform across models, pricing, and infrastructure, and how it…
-
Ben Horowitz: Why Open Source AI Will Determine America’s Future
Ben Horowitz reveals why the US already lost the AI culture war to China—and it wasn’t the technology that failed. While Biden’s team played Manhattan Project with closed models, Chinese developers quietly captured the open-source…
-
The Secret Marketing Strategy That Built a16z: From Zero to Legendary VC Firm
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz sit down with Margit Wennmachers—the woman who turned two unknown entrepreneurs with $300 million and zero investing track record into the most talked-about firm in venture capital. She unpacks how…
-
How Marc Andreessen Actually Uses AI
Half a billion people can access the world’s best AI on their phone. So why are most using it to write emails while only some are using it to build empires? In this conversation with…
-
The 2045 Superintelligence Timeline: Epoch AI’s Data-Driven Forecast
Epoch AI researchers reveal why Anthropic might beat everyone to the first gigawatt datacenter, why AI could solve the Riemann hypothesis in 5 years, and what 30% GDP growth actually looks like. They explain why…
-
Robinhood CEO: Making Everyone An Owner
Vlad Tenev built Robinhood by breaking every rule Wall Street wrote: zero commissions when competitors charged $10, mobile-first when “serious” investors demanded desktop, a brand that made finance feel like rebellion instead of a club…