David Ulevitch is a venture capital investor at Andreessen Horowitz who co-leads the firm's American Dynamism practice, focusing on defense, energy, and critical infrastructure companies that strengthen national capacity rather than chasing traditional software markets. Unlike most VCs, he built and scaled OpenDNS from founding through a major Cisco acquisition where he then ran a $2.4 billion security business, giving him an unusually complete founder-to-executive operating experience that he applies to mentoring technical founders in complex, regulated sectors.

• Championing the concept of American Dynamism, which involves funding companies that support the national interest, defense, and industrial base. He frequently highlights the urgency to rebuild manufacturing capabilities, such as shipbuilding in Philadelphia or hardening supply chains, and recently announced a billion-dollar fund dedicated to this sector.
• Advocacy for public safety technologies that assist law enforcement in reducing crime rates. He regularly shares success stories from portfolio companies like Flock Safety, citing specific metrics such as significant drops in car thefts or increased arrest rates in major cities like San Francisco.
• Enthusiasm for physical infrastructure, energy independence, and complex engineering projects. He specifically points to the importance of the supply chain ecosystem including batteries, mining, and nuclear energy startups like Radiant Nuclear as essential for national self-reliance.
• Emphasis on high ambition, competence, and return on investment over social governance metrics. He argues that prioritizing ESG often detracts from financial returns and expresses support for leaders and policies that deliver tangible results in energy and industry regardless of political affiliation.
• Practical observations on startup leadership and the difficulties of personnel management. For instance, he notes that managing out a co-founder or a Head of HR are among the most difficult tasks a CEO faces, despite the assumption that the latter should be easy.