Arianna Simpson

Arianna Simpson is a San Francisco-based venture capitalist and investor focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.^[3] She founded and served as managing partner of Autonomous Partners, a cryptocurrency and digital-asset-focused hedge fund and venture capital fund launched in 2017, and has been a venture partner at early-stage venture firm Crystal Towers Capital since 2015.^[3]

In 2020 Simpson joined the crypto investing team at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto) as a deal partner and was promoted to general partner in 2021, helping deploy the firm’s $2.2 billion third crypto fund and subsequent dedicated crypto capital.^[5][4] In January 2026 she announced that, after six years with the firm, she was transitioning out of a16z to start her own investment fund focused on backing founders at early stages across multiple technology sectors.^[6]

Arianna has spent her career in various areas of technology and venture capital, working at two early-stage startups, Facebook, institutional crypto custody firm BitGo, and later in venture roles at Crystal Towers Capital, Autonomous Partners, and Andreessen Horowitz.^[3][5]

Early Life

After graduating from Pennsylvania State University, where she studied international politics and Spanish, Arianna Simpson worked at Shoptiques.com as head of boutique operations from 2012 to 2013.^[3] In 2013 she joined Facebook’s Global Marketing Solutions team, based in the New York office.^[3] While at Facebook she started a blockchain-focused lunch meetup and tried to persuade the company to pursue a cryptocurrency project several years before its eventual initiatives in the space.^[5][4]

Simpson has attributed the origins of her interest in cryptocurrencies to experiences during and shortly after college. While working a college job, she traveled with a friend through Zimbabwe, where she witnessed the effects of hyperinflation on the local economy.^[5][3] On returning, she researched alternatives to traditional monetary systems, read the Bitcoin white paper, and became convinced of cryptocurrency’s potential, later investing her savings into bitcoin at around age 22.^[5][4]

In 2014 Simpson left Facebook to join BitGo, a multi‑signature cryptocurrency wallet and infrastructure startup, where she became one of the company’s earliest employees in an account and project management role.^[3][5]

Education

Arianna Simpson holds a bachelor’s degree in International Politics and Spanish from the Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors College.^[3]​^[2]​

Career

Simpson’s interest in cryptocurrencies began after her college-era trip to Zimbabwe, where she observed the impact of hyperinflation, prompting her to read the Bitcoin white paper and explore digital currencies as an alternative monetary system.^[5]​^[4] By her early twenties she had invested her personal savings into bitcoin and continued to research blockchain technology while working at Facebook, where she organized an internal blockchain lunch meetup and advocated for an early corporate crypto initiative.^[5]​^[3]​

Simpson started her post‑university career at Shoptiques.com, where she served as head of boutique operations from 2012 to 2013, followed by a role in Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook beginning in 2013.^[3] In 2014 she left Facebook for BitGo, a digital asset security and infrastructure company, joining as one of its earliest employees in a client‑facing and product-focused position.^[3]​^[5]​

In 2015 Simpson co‑founded Crystal Towers Capital, an early‑stage venture capital fund, where she has served as a venture partner and active angel investor.^[3] She launched Autonomous Partners in 2017 as founder and managing partner, raising what she described as a “lower eight digits” fund from backers including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Union Square Ventures, Craft Ventures, and Cohen Private Ventures.^[3] Autonomous Partners focused on cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and blockchain-based companies, investing in projects such as Dapper Labs, Maker, Celo, Talos, and Mythical Games, often overlapping with early crypto investments made by Andreessen Horowitz.^[3]​^[5]​

Her work as an independent investor and fund manager led to a closer relationship with the a16z crypto team, which eventually recruited her to the firm.^[3] In 2020 Simpson joined Andreessen Horowitz’s dedicated crypto group as a deal partner, sourcing and supporting investments in companies including Eco, Optimism, and Talos Trading.^[3]​^[5] Roughly a year later, in 2021, the firm promoted her to general partner to help deploy its $2.2 billion third crypto fund.^[4] As a general partner at a16z crypto she invested in companies such as Phantom, a crypto wallet provider, and Blackbird, a dining rewards startup, as well as other projects across decentralized finance, infrastructure, gaming, and NFT-related platforms.^[5]​^[4]​

Simpson has described her investment approach as founder‑driven, focusing on backing strong entrepreneurs early rather than concentrating solely on predefined themes, and has emphasized areas such as stablecoins and the intersection of crypto and AI among the promising directions for the industry.^[5] In January 2026 she announced that after six years with Andreessen Horowitz she would transition out of her role as general partner to start a new fund of her own, with a broader mandate across technology verticals while maintaining a focus on early‑stage founders.^[6]​^[2]​

Beyond investing, Simpson writes and speaks about cryptocurrencies and technology, contributing articles to outlets such as Business Insider, Women 2.0, and CoinDesk.^[1] She has also invested in and supported companies such as Stork Club Fertility Benefits, which she has highlighted as part of her investment portfolio.^[2]​

Achievements

Roughly a year after joining Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto team as a deal partner, Simpson was promoted to general partner and given responsibility for helping deploy the firm’s $2.2 billion third dedicated cryptocurrency fund, announced in 2021.^[4]​^[3] Andreessen Horowitz later raised a fourth crypto fund of $4.5 billion in 2022, and Simpson remained one of the general partners investing from the firm’s dedicated crypto capital.^[5]​

Under Simpson’s tenure, a16z crypto built a portfolio that included companies involved in non‑fungible tokens (NFTs) such as OpenSea and Dapper Labs, as well as projects in decentralized finance, infrastructure, and gaming.^[4] Autonomous Partners, the fund she founded before joining Andreessen Horowitz, backed projects like Celo, Dapper Labs, and Maker, and Simpson was recognized in industry coverage for having launched her first crypto‑focused venture firm in her mid‑twenties and for becoming a prominent investor in the sector.^[3]​^[4]​