Chris Lyons

Christopher Lyons is President of Web3 Media at a16z crypto. Prior to joining the team at a16z crypto, he co-founded the firm’s Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF) and was instrumental in launching the first Seed Fund. Lyons joined Andreesen Horowitz in 2013, first as chief of staff to co-founder Ben Horowitz.

The Cultural Leadership Fund launched in 2018 with the mission to connect the world’s greatest cultural leaders to the best new technology companies and engage, empower, and elevate Black builders and creators on their journey toward excellence in the technology industry. CLF Fund I was Silicon Valley’s first venture capital fund consisting of 100% African American Limited Partners. Since then, the firm has closed CLF II, donated over $1.5M in CLF management fees and carry to non-profit partners, and facilitated hundreds of introductions between cultural leaders, including seasoned athletes, entertainers, musicians, corporate executives, and a16z portfolio companies.

Lyons started his career in the music industry as a sound engineer for Grammy-award-winning producer Jermaine Dupri. He then launched his first startup, PictureMenu, a mobile app and digital menu offering. Lyons moved to Silicon Valley in 2012 to participate in NewME Accelerator for minority-led startups.

He champions access and advancement for underrepresented backgrounds. Lyons is on the advisory boards of The Black Economic Alliance and New Story Charity and a member of the Verizon Media Global Advisory board. He is the founder of Italian wine brand Lyons Wine, a Kauffman Fellow graduate (Class ‘19), and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated (KT Spring ‘07). Lyons received a Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University in 2010.