Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape Communications and former chief
technology officer America
Online Inc. (AOL), Tuesday unveiled his latest project, Loudcloud Inc.
Andreessen was short on details during Tuesday’s announcement. He would only say that the company will focus on “accelerating Internet business growth and creation.” The project will also involve several industry all-stars.
The company includes a managerial and technical team boasting members from
heavy-hitters such as Netscape, Epiphany and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO).
“New companies are being formed at a faster rate than ever, due to the
enormous business opportunities created by the Internet and the massive
influx of venture capital investment,” Andreessen said.
“Successful Internet companies realize they must meet these challenges if
they are to fully leverage the Internet to grow their businesses as fast as
possible. Loudcloud will capitalize on these trends by delivering
technology and services high-growth Internet companies need to compete and
win.”
Buoyed by initial investments from co-founders, the company was formed in
September and is actively recruiting more members. Andreessen said additional
information about Loudcloud will come early next year.
In addition to Andreessen, the company’s executives include:
- Ben Horowitz, chief executive officer and co-founder: Led several
divisions at Netscape and AOL, including directory and security products - Tim Howes, chief technology officer and co-founder: Co-inventor of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol — the Net standard for directories.
- In Sik Ree, vice president of operational architecture and co-founder:
co-founder of Kiva software. - Jonathan Heiliger, vice president of operations: Built Frontier
GlobalCenter’s operations team and architecture. - Scott Dunlap, director of products: Defined and launched more than a dozen
products at Epiphany and founded 4charity.com. - Jason Rosenthal, director of marketing and business development:
Managed shopping and e-commerce product marketing at AOL and led Netscape’s entry into the billing presentation market. - Mathew Hein, business development manager: Former Morgan Stanley
investment banker who led several of 1999’s hottest initial public offerings.
