Kofi Ampadu, the partner at a16z who led the firm’s Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, has decided to leave the firm, as revealed in an email he sent to staff that TechCrunch has seen. This news comes a few months after a16z paused TxO and laid off most of its team.
“During my time at the firm, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity and the trust to lead this work,” Ampadu wrote in the email, sent Friday afternoon, with the subject line “Closing My a16z Chapter.” He reflected on how identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and helping them develop their ideas, secure funding, and become confident leaders was one of the most significant experiences of his career.
Ampadu led the program, which started in 2020, for more than four years until its pause last November, taking over from the initial leader, Nait Jones. Following that, he seems to have transitioned to a16z’s newest accelerator, Speedrun.
His departure may signal the end of the TxO chapter. The fund and program aimed to support underserved founders by providing access to tech networks and investment capital through a donor-advised fund. While some founders praised the program, others voiced concerns over the controversial donor-advised structure. The program also initiated a grant in 2024 to offer $50,000 to nonprofits that assist diverse founders.
The last cohort took place in March 2025, and its indefinite pause came as many leading tech firms re-evaluate, cut back, or discard previous commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We’ve reached out to a16z and Ampadu for comments. His full note is below:
I moved to the United States three months before my 11th birthday. A month later, I started 6th grade in a school more than 5,000 miles away from my home, my friends, and everything familiar. Recently, my mom reminded me that my school required me to enroll as an English-as-a-Second-Language student. My memory immediately returned to how confused I felt. Even at 10 years old, I knew it made no sense that a kid from Ghana, an English-speaking country, was being asked to learn a language he already spoke fluently.
This was a systems requirement, a blanket assumption about what students from certain places could or could not do. That same type of systemic assumption is what we set out to challenge through the Talent x Opportunity Initiative. The venture ecosystem often relies on proxies such as schools, networks, and prior credentials, which can obscure exceptional founders who don’t take the most common paths. TxO invested in and supported these overlooked founders to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
During my time at the firm, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity and the trust to lead this work. Identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they sharpened their ideas, raised capital, and grew into confident leaders was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career.
As I move on to my next chapter, I leave with pride in what we built and gratitude for everyone who helped shape it. Thank you for the trust, the collaboration, and the belief in what is possible. There is more work to do, and I am excited to keep building.
