Is 2024 the year when voice technology finally takes center stage? Despite being the oldest form of human communication, voice has historically struggled as an interface for engaging with technology. In this conversation, General Partner Anish Acharya explores the impact of large language models on virtual assistants, elevating them to conversational powerhouses with capabilities that rival human interactions. Could your favorite apps soon boast seamless voice integration powered by AI? Topics Covered: 00:00 - Big Ideas in Tech 2024 01:39 - Big Idea: Voice-First Apps Will Become Integral to Our Lives 03:21 - The limiting factors of voice technology 04:35 - What would a voice-first app look like? 06:07 - Voice tech for companionship and productivity 07:23 - The primary modality voice applications 08:29 - How builders and founders can integrate voice technology Resources: View all 40+ big ideas: https://a16z.com/bigideas2024 Find Anish on Twitter: https://twitter.com/illscience Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
This month, a16z’s Consumer team released the fourth edition of the GenAI 100 — a data-driven ranking of the top 50 AI-first web products and mobile apps, based on unique monthly visits and active users. In just six months, the consumer AI landscape has shifted dramatically. Some products surged ahead, others plateaued, and a few unexpected players reshaped the leaderboard entirely. In this episode, a16z General Partner Anish Acharya and Partner Olivia Moore join us to unpack the latest rankings and explore the key cultural and product moments that brought us to this point. Which applications are leading the pack — and which ones are quietly on the rise? What do trends like AI video, companion apps, and “vibe coding” reveal about the future of consumer AI? And for the first time, the team also analyzed which products aren’t just gaining users, but generating real revenue. If you’re looking to understand where we are in the GenAI adoption cycle — and what might come next — this episode offers a data-backed view into one of the fastest-moving corners of technology. You can find the full GenAI 100 list at: https://a16z.com/100-gen-ai-apps-4/ Timecodes: 00:00: Consumer AI Trends 00:36: The Gen AI 100 List: Methodology and Insights 02:38: Pivotal Moments in AI Development 05:37: Assumptions and Realities in AI 08:48: Emerging Trends and Newcomers 11:53: The Brink List: Near Misses and Future Contenders 16:08: Surprises and Consistencies in AI Adoption 18:31: The Future of AI Applications 19:40: Traffic Trends and User Demographics 20:32: Resurgence and New Use Cases 22:47: Competitors and Market Dynamics 25:30: AI Video Models and Trends 29:23: Mobile vs Desktop Usage 30:34: Revenue Insights and Monetization 34:06: Key Learnings and Final Thoughts Resources: Find Anish on X: https://x.com/illscience Find Olivia on X: https://x.com/omooretweets Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://x.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
As 2025 comes to a close, consumer AI is entering a new phase. A small number of products now dominate everyday use, multimodal models have unlocked entirely new creative workflows, and the big labs have pushed aggressively into consumer experiences. At the same time, it is becoming clearer which ideas actually changed user behavior and which ones did not. In this episode, a16z consumer investors Anish Acharya, Olivia Moore, Justine Moore, and Bryan Kim look back on the biggest product and model shifts of 2025 and ahead to what 2026 may bring. They discuss why consumer AI appears to be trending toward a winner-take-most model, how subtle product design choices can matter more than raw model quality, and why templates, multimodality, and distribution are shaping the next wave of consumer products. Where do startups still have room to win? How will the role of the big labs continue to change? And what will it actually take for consumer AI apps to break out at scale in 2026? Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction & Market Overview 0:35 Who Won Consumer AI in 2025? 1:22 Major Model and Product Launches 2:24 Image and Video Model Innovations 4:05 Product Sensibility and User Experience 6:40 Advances in Image and Video Models 9:11 Under-hyped Products and Productivity Apps 10:21 Prosumer Tools and Power User Workflows 12:56 Gemini vs. ChatGPT: Distribution and Brand 14:04 Product Nuances: Onboarding and Engagement 16:09 Social Features and Group Chat 19:26 Sora, TikTok, and the Status Game 21:02 Challengers: Claude, Perplexity, Grok 23:37 Meta, Grok, and Rapid Model Progress 26:54 Predictions for 2026: Enterprise, Apps, and Multimodality 32:02 Startup Opportunities and App Generation 36:27 Favorite Products and Recommendations 42:19 Building Consumer Products in 2026 Resources: Follow Anish: https://twitter.com/illscience Follow Olivia: https://twitter.com/omooretweets Follow Bryan https://twitter.com/kirbyman01 Follow Justine: https://twitter.com/venturetwins Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures.
AI voice technology has been around for years — think Siri or Alexa — but the magic has been missing. That’s changing, and quickly! In this episode, Anish Acharya, General Partner at a16z, and Olivia Moore, Partner at a16z, explore why AI voice is reaching a breakthrough moment, how today’s models feel more human than ever, and why voice is poised to become the primary way people interact with AI. With businesses already making tens of thousands of AI-driven phone calls daily, AI-powered conversations are no longer a distant vision—they’re happening now. Whether it's AI companions, customer service bots, or enterprise applications, voice tech is here—and it’s improving faster than anyone expected. Timecodes: 00:00: Introduction 00:46: Challenges and Opportunities in Voice AI 02:41: Technological Advances in Voice AI 05:04: Voice AI in Business Applications 06:38: Evolution of AI Voice Technology 07:56: Emotionality and Human-Like Interactions 10:13: AI Voice in Various Industries 15:42: Consumer Receptivity and AI Companionship 24:19: Pricing Models and Market Strategies 27:36: Future Prospects Resources: Find Anish on X: https://x.com/illscience Find Olivia on X: https://x.com/omooretweets Read the report: https://a16z.com/ai-voice-agents-2025-update/ Listen to Raising Health’s episode on how voice AI is solving healthcare’s workforce challenges: https://a16z.com/podcast/voice-ai-solving-healthcares-workforce-challenges-with-ankit-jain/ Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.