You can take a16z out of the UK, but you cannot take the UK out of a16z

Marc Andreessen announced that their office in London, opened only two years ago, would shut down and its got everyone talking. Is London finished? Is the UK’s claim of being a great tech economy over? Will it bring down the government?

Well, there are differing views.

Many believe it is due to the new Trump admin’s crypto-friendly approach. As Sifted reports: “the VC firm was pulling back from the UK to focus on the US crypto market in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. On Thursday, the newly inaugurated president signed an executive order designed to ‘strengthen American leadership’ in cryptocurrencies.”

Anthony Albanese, COO of the VC company’s crypto division, wrote on X: “we have chosen to focus on the US given the new administration’s strong policy momentum and will therefore be closing our UK office.”

Others see a greater agenda. For example, on my sharing of this news on LinkedIn, Kathleen Tyson comments that the “US is probably the biggest threat to UK now. Starmer regime may be destabilised for Reform-Tory coalition regime change. Hence Elon’s attacks on UK and promotion of right-wing nut jobs. Gilts are a vulnerability. Andreessen would know this if it’s already planned.”

Some see it as an act of patriotism: “one could view it as an act of love and protection for country. Aka Patriotism. Who can blame or shame him for that? I bet some will tho.” Connie Davis, Rohring Results

Michael Boevink, founder of Boevink Group, thinks it all about putting USA first: “his move is just to follow the US wish of MAGA”.

Or maybe the bottom-line is that their VC firm, a16z, had a lead partner to run the UK office, Sriram Krishnan, who left to work for Donald Trump.

Either way, as Albanese makes clear: “This doesn’t change our confidence in the UK’s growing role in crypto and blockchain. We will continue to invest in great entrepreneurs no matter where they are in the world, including the UK. We also remain ready to help the UK with its ongoing crypto efforts.”

In other words yes, a16z can leave the UK, but you can’t take the UK out of a16z. The office closes but the investments will still be there, when it’s worth investing.

Postscript:

In a follow-up Sifted, using a Freedom of Information Act request, discovered that a16z’s arrival was the “culmination of five years of proactive account management” by the Department of Business and Trade, a UK Government department. “They almost came here to make a point to the US,” a person familiar with the situation said. “The US was crypto-unfriendly at the time and the UK said it would set out a regulatory roadmap.”