a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school; plus, AstroForge is putting AI in command of its next spacecraft

This is Tech Crunch. This episode is brought to you by Framer. Listen, your wardrobe is not the only thing that should be changing with the season. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about updating and refreshing your website with new content. And Framer makes that easy to do. Even easier than trying to plan out your next outfit. Framer has everything you need to build and run a website, a canvas tool for design, hosting, a built-in CMS, and AI agents that work alongside you to help bring your vision to the screen. And it's all in one place, so you can stop skipping around to a hundred different apps. You can update your site and have it go live in a few minutes, or build a new one from scratch. Now, I love Framer's powerful SEO tools that have really helped me zero in on my target audience. I can track my traffic through their analytics, and I can optimize my site so that it works across any device. Plus, there's enterprise-grade security to protect all my info. Learn how you can get more out of your site from a Framer specialist, or get started building for free today at framer.com slash tcstartups for 30% off a Framer Pro annual plan. That's framer.com slash tcstartups for 30% off. framer.com slash tcstartups. Rules and restrictions may apply. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is launching a school called the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, aimed at aspiring founders who have just graduated high school and have not yet attended college. The academy is aiming to train these high school grads with hands-on coursework on a variety of topics, ranging from the technical, such as AI research and models, to life philosophy, such as the geometry of luck, which promises to teach students about arranging a life so good fortune flows through it. Students will also work on personal projects. The school's main pitch is that it promises to provide students with mentors who are big names in tech. The school is currently accepting applications for its first year, which will be a one-year program that charges no tuition and is open to about 50 students, chosen on proof of work, what they have built, shipped, or earned, according to the school's frequently asked questions. The academy is located in San Francisco, and students will be responsible for their own housing, although the school is working to help them find it and match them with other student roommates. One item to note, the Academy is currently not an accredited school, so participants will not earn a degree or college credits that transfer anywhere. In 2028, the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, which is a for-profit venture that has raised $42 million, hopes to offer a two-year program. At that point, it plans to charge tuition, similar in cost to an elite private university, the school's CEO said in a post on X. The schools, which is open to high school graduates even if they are younger than 18, may also expand beyond 50 students in the future. In exchange for that elite tuition price tag, students will gain access to 200 speakers and mentors, including people from 10 founding corporate partners, Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Palantir, Replit, and Stripe.