Marc Andreessen explains why he won't be jumping on Silicon Valley's ayahuasca trend
Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch
- Marc Andreessen said he's not interested in taking psychedelics — even as other executives recommend ayahuasca.
- He says he's seen tech leaders use the drugs and "move to Indonesia and become a surf instructor."
- Instead, Andreessen said he uses another drug that once made his heart skip every 10th beat.
Marc Andreessen says he's heard enough stories about psychedelics in Silicon Valley to know they're not for him.
Speaking on David Senra's podcast, the cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz — one of the largest venture capital firms in the Bay Area — said some founders who experiment with hallucinogenic drugs become calmer and more at peace.
He said they also sometimes lose interest in running their companies.
"I have tons of horror stories from people I know or know of," he said. "They try it, and they kind of come out the other end as a changed person. They come out much more at peace, but then they also tend to quit their companies, and they move to Indonesia and become a surf instructor."
Andreessen said he's noticed a pattern among founders who turn to psychedelics — particularly ayahuasca — while under intense pressure.
He added that he once discussed the phenomenon with Stanford University neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman. Huberman suggested that becoming less anxious might actually be the point.
"And in true Huberman kind of wise Yoda style, he's like, 'Well, you know, how do you know they're not happier?'" Andreessen said. "Maybe the thing that was driving them to be a great entrepreneur was a fundamental level of insecurity."
Instead, he said that his preferred drug is far more conventional: caffeine.
Andreessen said he once had so many cups of coffee that his heart was skipping every 10th beat.
The use of psychedelics in Silicon Valley has become increasingly mainstream in recent years.
Entrepreneurs and investors have spoken openly about experimenting with substances like LSD, psilocybin, or ayahuasca, often framing them as tools for self-discovery, creativity, or mental health.
That hasn't convinced Andreessen to try them.
"There's a possibility that there's a better version of you or me on the other side of ayahuasca," he said. "But I'm not willing to find out."