a16z partner Kofi Ampadu exits firm following pause of TxO program

Kofi Ampadu, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz who led the firm’s Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and initiative, has departed the venture capital firm, according to an internal email sent to employees that TechaAmerica.ai obtained. His exit comes several months after a16z paused the TxO program and laid off most of the team associated with it.

In the message, sent to staff on Friday afternoon with the subject line “Closing My a16z Chapter,” Ampadu reflected on his time at the firm and the work he led.
“During my time at the firm, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity and the trust to lead this work,” he wrote.

He described his experience supporting founders outside traditional venture capital networks as one of the most rewarding chapters of his career.
“Identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they sharpened their ideas, raised capital, and grew into confident leaders was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career,” Ampadu said in the note.

Ampadu had led the TxO program since 2020, taking over from its original leader, Nait Jones. He ran the initiative for more than four years before it was paused in November. Following the pause, Ampadu appeared to transition to working on a16z’s newer accelerator program, Speedrun.

His departure may mark a definitive close to the TxO chapter at the firm. The Talent x Opportunity fund and program were designed to support founders from underserved backgrounds by offering access to Silicon Valley networks and investment capital through a donor-advised fund structure. While many founders publicly praised TxO for the support and exposure it provided, others raised concerns about the donor-advised model, which drew criticism from some corners of the startup community.

In 2024, the program also launched a grant initiative that awarded $50,000 to nonprofit organisations supporting diverse and underrepresented founders. The final TxO cohort participated in March 2025, before the program entered an indefinite pause.

That pause came amid a broader shift across the tech industry, as several high-profile companies and investors began scaling back, reframing, or discontinuing earlier public commitments related to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Both a16z and Ampadu have been contacted for comment.

Below is Ampadu’s full message to staff:

I moved to the United States three months before my 11th birthday. One month later, I started sixth grade in a school more than 5,000 miles from my home, my friends, and everything familiar. Recently, my mom reminded me that my school required me to enrol as an English-as-a-Second-Language student. My memory immediately returned to how confused I felt. Even at 10 years old, I knew it made no sense that a kid from Ghana—an English-speaking country—was being asked to learn a language he already spoke fluently.

This was a systems requirement, a blanket assumption about what students from certain places could or could not do. That same kind of systemic assumption is what we set out to challenge through the Talent x Opportunity Initiative. The venture ecosystem often relies on proxies such as schools, networks, and prior credentials, which can obscure exceptional founders who do not follow the most common paths. TxO invested in and supported these overlooked founders to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.

During my time at the firm, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity and the trust placed in me to lead this work. Identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they sharpened their ideas, raised capital, and grew into confident leaders was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career.

As I move on to my next chapter, I leave with pride in what we built and gratitude for everyone who helped shape it. Thank you for the trust, the collaboration, and the belief in what is possible. There is more work to do, and I am excited to keep building.