a16z Speedrun SR004

a16z Speedrun SR004 was the fourth cohort, running from January to March 2025 in San Francisco. Each of the 42 companies received $750,000 via a post-money SAFE, selected from over 6,000 applicants. SR004 marked a significant strategic shift: the batch broadened beyond gaming to encompass all technology verticals, with 69% of companies identifying as AI-native. This expansion reflected both the maturation of Speedrun as a platform and the recognition that AI was transforming every industry, not just gaming. Companies in the batch worked on AI agents, creative tools, developer infrastructure, and enterprise applications. The cohort was the largest Speedrun batch at that time, demonstrating a16z's growing confidence in the program's ability to source and support founders at scale. SR004 benefited from the AI boom: founders had access to increasingly powerful foundation models and could build sophisticated products faster than ever before. The batch also reflected Speedrun's evolution from a niche gaming accelerator to a broad-based program competing directly with Y Combinator and other top-tier accelerators for the best AI-native founders.