David Ulevitch

Background

David Ulevitch is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he joined in October 2018 ¹². He co-leads the firm’s American Dynamism practice alongside Katherine Boyle ³.

Ulevitch’s entrepreneurial career began in 2001, while he was a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis, when he founded EveryDNS — a free, donation-funded domain name system provider that grew into what became one of the world’s largest free DNS services ¹⁴. He sold EveryDNS to Dyn (now Oracle) in January 2010 ¹⁴.

In July 2006, Ulevitch launched OpenDNS, a cloud-delivered recursive DNS and security service ⁴⁵. After a period of turbulence in which he was temporarily asked to step aside as CEO by an early investor, he secured new investors, returned to the CEO role, simplified the cap table, and led the company through a pivot from consumer to enterprise security ². OpenDNS grew to protect nearly 100 million people daily across tens of thousands of businesses before Cisco acquired it for $635 million in August 2015 ¹⁵⁶.

Following the acquisition, Ulevitch remained at Cisco for three years. In December 2016, he was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Security Business — a $2.4 billion annual revenue division with more than 5,000 employees — where he oversaw the company’s global cybersecurity strategy, product portfolio, and go-to-market operations ¹⁷. He left Cisco in October 2018 to join a16z ¹.

Ulevitch holds a BA in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis ¹. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Washington University, is a member of the Council on Global Competition and Innovation, and sits on the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y in New York City ⁸. He splits time between New York City and Big Sky, Montana ⁸.

Stated Thesis

Ulevitch publicly describes two investment focuses at a16z ³⁹:

1. American Dynamism — Investing in companies that advance the national interest, spanning defense and national security, public safety, aerospace, energy, housing, education, logistics, supply chain, industrials, and manufacturing. He has described the thesis as anything that makes “the American dream more real” — people wanting to own a home in a good neighborhood with good schools, a short commute, in a safe environment, in a country that is safe and able to defend itself ¹⁰.

2. Enterprise and SaaS software — Vertical SaaS platforms, developer tooling, data infrastructure, and productivity software, particularly tools that help operators of “Main Street businesses” run and grow their companies ¹¹.

In his own words on the national investment thesis: “Forget partisan debates. Onshoring manufacturing, deploying AI, and scaling energy aren’t about job creation or gas prices. They’re about national survival in an age of geopolitical volatility.” ¹²

And on the urgency of the opportunity: “Investing in American dynamism isn’t just patriotic; it’s financially rational.” ¹²

On the defense manufacturing opportunity: “Previous conceived beliefs around, ‘oh, well hardware is so hard, it’s so low margin, it can’t possibly work.’ Well, that’s not true.” ¹³

Inferred Thesis

The following analysis is based on 20 verified investments publicly attributed to Ulevitch through a16z announcements, press coverage, and company funding disclosures. This represents a partial view of his portfolio; the full number of investments is not publicly enumerated.

Sector Breakdown (based on 20 verified investments)

• Enterprise / Vertical SaaS: 11 of 20 investments (55%) — WorkBoard, AnyRoad, Vitally, Superhuman, Firstbase, Alloy Automation, Supermove, Orderful, Census, Rewatch, Wingspan
• American Dynamism / Defense / Public Safety: 7 of 20 investments (35%) — Anduril, Flock Safety, Skydio, Air Space Intelligence, Radiant Nuclear, Saronic, Pryzm
• Energy: 2 of 20 investments (10%) — Radiant Nuclear (nuclear microreactors), Base Power (distributed home batteries)

Note: Radiant Nuclear is counted in both American Dynamism and Energy. The total adds up with overlapping categories.

Key observation: Ulevitch’s portfolio divides sharply between an early-career enterprise SaaS phase (2018–2022) and a deepening American Dynamism/defense-tech phase (2020–present). While he publicly states both as co-equal focuses, the American Dynamism companies are receiving significantly larger checks and represent the firm’s highest-conviction bets (Anduril, Flock Safety, Skydio, Saronic).

Stage Distribution (20 verified investments)

• Seed: 2 of 20 (10%) — Census (seed 2020), Pryzm (seed 2025)
• Series A: 9 of 20 (45%) — Superhuman, AnyRoad, Orderful, Vitally, Firstbase, Supermove, Alloy Automation, Wingspan, Radiant Nuclear
• Series B: 4 of 20 (20%) — WorkBoard (Series C), Anduril (Series B 2019), Air Space Intelligence, Saronic
• Growth / Late Stage: 5 of 20 (25%) — Flock Safety (Series D 2021), Skydio (Series D 2021), Anduril (multiple follow-on rounds), Base Power (Series B/C 2025), Flock Safety (2025 follow-on)

Ulevitch writes most initial checks at Series A. He then follows on aggressively through growth stages in his highest-conviction companies (Anduril, Flock Safety, Skydio each received multiple rounds from a16z).

Geographic Concentration

All 20 verified investments are U.S.-based. The American Dynamism portfolio specifically targets sectors with explicit strategic importance to U.S. national security and manufacturing capacity. No international investments identified ³⁹.

Check Size

Based on a16z investment patterns and available round data ⁹[^14]: - Seed: $2M–$5M (estimated based on Pryzm $12M round) - Series A: $9M–$20M (Vitally $9M, Firstbase $13M, Alloy $20M, Wingspan $14M, Radiant $40M) - Series B–C: $30M–$175M+ (WorkBoard Series C $30M led, Saronic Series B $175M led by a16z) - Growth: $150M–$500M+ (Flock Safety Series D $150M led, Skydio Series D $170M led by a16z Growth Fund)

Founder Profile Patterns

Across his portfolio, Ulevitch consistently backs:

• Mission-driven operators with domain expertise: Flock Safety (public safety), Radiant (nuclear from SpaceX engineers), Air Space Intelligence (aviation-industry insiders), Saronic (defense). Rather than backing pure technologists entering a sector, he backs people who have lived the problem.
• Repeat or clearly pedigreed founders: Rahul Vohra (Superhuman, previously founded Rapportive/LinkedIn), Census founders (described as “a repeat team of fantastic entrepreneurs”), WorkBoard’s Deidre Paknad (prior enterprise SaaS CEO).
• “Relentless” execution at large markets: Ulevitch repeatedly uses the word “relentless” to describe founders he backs (Paknad, ASI’s Phillip Buckendorf). He has framed his investment in WorkBoard around Paknad telling him she would triple sales and then doing exactly that ¹⁴.
• Technical founders building capital-intensive infrastructure: In American Dynamism, he explicitly targets companies that “magnetically attract capital” — deeply technical products in hardware, energy, or defense where capital intensity is a moat, not a handicap ¹⁰.

Co-Investor Patterns

Across the verified portfolio, Ulevitch frequently co-invests with: - Founders Fund — Anduril, Flock Safety, Supermove - General Catalyst — Anduril - Meritech Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Tiger Global, Y Combinator — Flock Safety - IVP — Skydio Series D - Renegade Partners, Bloomberg Beta, Spark Capital — Air Space Intelligence

In enterprise SaaS: SV Angel, BoxGroup, Sequoia appear as seed co-investors. For American Dynamism specifically, Founders Fund is the most frequent co-investor, consistent with the defense-tech thesis overlap between the two firms.

Notable Gaps Between Stated and Actual Thesis

• “American Dynamism” as a label underplays his enterprise SaaS roots: Roughly half of Ulevitch’s verified investments are conventional B2B SaaS — productivity tools, customer success platforms, supply chain software — not defense or manufacturing. The American Dynamism branding dominates his public persona, but enterprise SaaS writing still occupies a majority of his deal count.
• Crypto/consumer: absent: Despite a16z’s massive crypto franchise, none of Ulevitch’s identified investments touch crypto or consumer. His background (DNS, security, enterprise) runs entirely through infrastructure and B2B.
• Energy as an emerging sub-theme: Radiant Nuclear and Base Power represent a developing energy thesis that is distinct from the defense-first American Dynamism narrative. Energy-as-resilience (both grid and distributed) appears to be a new lane.

Portfolio

Note: This table includes 19 investments across 18 companies (Flock Safety appears twice for separate rounds). This represents approximately 50–60% of Ulevitch’s estimated deal count at a16z; additional investments in Mem, Rewatch, Rewind, Pyn, ChartHop, and others were listed on his a16z author page but round-level details were not verified in this research pass. The full investment count is not publicly enumerated by a16z.

In Their Own Words

On his identity as an investor:

“I am a lifelong entrepreneur and a builder.” ³²

On the American Dynamism thesis:

“Forget partisan debates. Onshoring manufacturing, deploying AI, and scaling energy aren’t about job creation or gas prices. They’re about national survival in an age of geopolitical volatility.” ¹²

“Investing in American dynamism isn’t just patriotic; it’s financially rational.” ¹²

“And we believe investors — not government — hold the key to defending America’s future.” ¹²

“If we want freedom to remain the world’s dominant operating system, we should fund it like our lives depend on it. Because they just might.” ¹²

On defense manufacturing:

“Previous conceived beliefs around, ‘oh, well hardware is so hard, it’s so low margin, it can’t possibly work.’ Well, that’s not true.” ¹³

“When we start building automation into the factory … we think that you can get — with a high rate of production — high-margin outcomes.” ¹³

On government as a market:

“The government is not one buyer. The government has many thousands of buyers.” ³²

On space:

“Space thanks to SpaceX, we went from being at risk of losing our dominant position to being unquestionably in first place.” ³²

On energy:

“Our thirst for energy is so insatiable that we could do all of them, and it would not be enough.” ³²

On AI:

“The AI is, for sure, a better programmer than I am at this point.” ³²

On Skydio (Skydio Series D, 2021):

“The initial wave of hype around enterprise drones passed many years ago, but we’re now seeing these markets really mature. Autonomy is the key for drones to reach scale, and Skydio has established themselves as the defining company in this category. We’re excited to continue to invest in this magical combination of breakthrough technology, rapid growth, and an incredible team in a market that’s going through an inflection point.” ³³

“From the moment we met the Skydio team and saw the S2 in action, we knew this was going to be a world-changing company.” ³³

On Flock Safety (Flock Safety Series D, 2021):

“Flock Safety certainly belongs in this mix of important companies.” ²⁰

“The results of Flock Safety in action are astounding: frequently finding stolen vehicles, substantially reducing residential burglary, and in more dangerous situations, empowering law enforcement to intervene in Amber alerts and resolve lethal crimes that would otherwise go unsolved. Beyond protecting property, Flock Safety is literally helping to save lives.” ³⁴

On Air Space Intelligence (Series B, 2023):

“ASI’s early success is a true testament to the caliber of the team and their technology.” ²⁶

“It’s rare for industry outsiders to gain traction in both major commercial airlines and the U.S. Air Force.” ²⁶

On Pryzm (Seed, 2025):

“Pryzm is building the connective tissue between America’s innovation base and its mission buyers. We believe their platform will redefine how the government collaborates with private industry.” ³¹

On Superhuman:

“Superhuman is the future of work. Once I started using Superhuman, I couldn’t conceive of relying on anything else.” ¹⁸

On WorkBoard’s founder:

“she’s a relentless founder with the rare ability to tie a big vision to very real and immediate customer problems.” ¹⁴

On Census:

“Backing a repeat team of fantastic entrepreneurs with a great idea in a category near and dear to my heart was a no-brainer.” ¹⁹

On Supermove:

“Supermove also embodies our American Dynamism and Vertical SaaS investing theses by equipping Main Street businesses with the tools they need to run and grow their companies.” ¹¹

On Orderful:

“Software isn’t just eating the world, it’s also eating other software.” ¹⁷

On the tech CEO “god complex” (Semafor, March 2026):

“I don’t want to be the person they call and say, can we hit the enter button on this command or not.” ¹³

“I also don’t have a God complex, so naturally I would not want to be in that position.” ¹³

On AI and democratic oversight:

“There are other people that say, we elect leaders, leaders make laws, there’s lots of oversight … I trust that democratic system, so I want the people that serve our country to have the best capabilities.” ¹³

What Founders Say

Garrett Langley, Co-Founder and CEO of Flock Safety, on the Series D led by David Ulevitch and a16z:

“We appreciate the perspective, resources, and knowledge that the a16z team brings to the table. We are excited to work closely with them through this next stage in our growth and honored to have them as a partner.” ³⁴

Nick LaRovere, Co-Founder and CEO of Pryzm, on the seed investment led by Ulevitch:

“The future of national defense depends on how fast we can get the right technology into the right hands. Procurement shouldn’t be a barrier to innovation. It should be the spark that drives it.” ³¹

No additional independently sourced founder testimonials about working with Ulevitch specifically were found in this research pass. The Langley and LaRovere quotes appear in press releases accompanying funding announcements; Langley’s quote is attributed to a GlobalNewswire release. No critical or independently reported founder testimonials were found.

Sources