\n
![](\"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjItMDQvMTY4ZDBmYjQtMmU1My00ZWQzLTk3MWEtNGY4YzMzOGQxNWRkLmpwZw==.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Theoretical computer scientist and Columbia University professor Tim Roughgarden has been appointed the head of Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) new crypto research unit. <\/p>\n
Roughgarden\u2019s resume includes more than three years as a professor of computer science at Columbia University in New York, along with a 14-year stint at Stanford. He has also served as a research partner at a16z since February last year. <\/p>\n
a16z is one of the most active venture capital firms<\/a> in crypto, with its funds reportedly worth around $9 billion<\/a>. Partly guided by the firm\u2019s new unit which was announced earlier today, Roughgarden has stated that its funding into crypto research will grow by \u201cmany multiples of the next couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re currently in a particular moment in time, witnessing a new multidisciplinary field (spurred by web3) blossom before our eyes. There are enormous opportunities to shape this field through research and education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 8\/ As a research lab within a VC firm, a16z crypto research represents a new funding model for basic research\u2014one that seems obvious in hindsight (with the long-term focus necessary for fundamental research already hard-wired into the firm\u2019s business model).<\/p>\n \u2014 Tim Roughgarden (@Tim_Roughgarden) April 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The firm highlighted Roughgarden\u2019s experience in computer science, research and economics, along with his crypto and blockchain course at Columbia as one of the \u201cbest and most popular\u201d introductions to crypto online. Roughgarden was one of the first<\/a> to provide a formal analysis on the fee mechanism for Ethereum\u2019s EIP-1559 upgrade. <\/p>\n According to a16z, the research team will form<\/a> a multidisciplinary lab that will work with the companies in its portfolio and others to solve \u201cthe important problems in the space,\u201d increase user adoption and advance Web3 science and technology. <\/p>\n Stanford University professor of computer science and electrical engineering Dan Boneh will also be joining Roughgarden as the senior research advisor. Boneh has worked with a16z for the past four years as a portfolio research advisor and also teaches applied cryptography at the Stanford Center for Blockchain Research. <\/strong><\/p>\n Major announcement from us today: we’re launching a16z crypto research to advance the science and technology of the next generation of the internet, led by the incomparable @Tim_Roughgarden<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/KtvmP7fSkh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 cdixon.eth (@cdixon) April 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The firm noted that \u201cnew entrepreneurial idea for a Web3 application or protocol tends to uncover fresh research challenges\u201d that are extremely important to solve in order to solidify the future of blockchain and crypto. <\/p>\n Such challenges include the scaling and development of infrastructure, tokenomics that benefit all participants<\/a>, and methods to build token economies in Web3 applications such as social media and gaming.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the advent of Ethereum and other blockchains that are fully programmable, web3 has unlocked an extremely rich design space for innovation. It\u2019s a space that we\u2019ve only just begun to explore.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>a16z\u2019s Chris Dixon tops \u2018Midas List\u2019 by turning $350M into $6B in 2021<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n