The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a private in-person program in San Francisco incubated by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, plans to enroll about 50 students in a tuition-free founding fellowship starting in fall 2027, according to the academy and its chief executive, Gagan Biyani.

The firm is investing $35 million to launch the school, the academy says. It plans to introduce a two-year program in 2028, contingent on regulatory approval, and expects to charge tuition comparable to an elite private university.

Biyani, who also co-founded online learning company Udemy, told FOX Business that admissions will give particular weight to applicants’ “proof of work”—projects built and released, businesses launched or difficult technical problems solved. The academy will also consider high school transcripts and SAT or ACT scores.

The curriculum is expected to focus on using artificial intelligence to develop products, as well as skills including sales and public speaking. Biyani said the academy has partnerships with more than 50 companies and that its founding partners include firms such as Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI and Stripe. His comments describe the academy’s expectations; the source does not report hiring guarantees or graduate employment outcomes.

The program is being proposed as an option for a limited group, not as a replacement for college. Biyani said traditional universities remain important, particularly for students pursuing academic research, while arguing that the academy may better suit some aspiring entrepreneurs and tech workers.

The school’s pitch comes amid mixed labor-market signals. Data cited from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York put unemployment among recent college graduates at about 5.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with roughly 42% underemployed. Separate Bureau of Labor Statistics figures cited in the report show that in 2025, workers 25 and older with bachelor’s degrees had higher median weekly earnings and lower unemployment than workers with only high school diplomas.

Whether the academy’s project-focused approach leads to the employment results its founders anticipate remains to be seen.