James Gwertzman

James Gwertzman is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, focused on gaming, and has
spent his career at the intersection of art, technology, and business.

Prior to joining a16z, James led Microsoft’s gaming industry vertical, which provides tools and
services to game creators. He joined Microsoft following its 2018 acquisition of PlayFab, the
gaming service that he founded in 2011 and led as CEO. He also co-founded Sprout Games,
which was acquired by PopCap Games in 2005. At PopCap, he opened and led their first free-to-
play game studio, based in Shanghai, and oversaw the launch of Plants vs Zombies in China,
which went on to become one of the most successful western games in China.

James is an advisor to Code.org, where he served as chief evangelist for the Hour of Code
initiative that introduced more than 20 million students to computer science in 2013. He
received his A.B. in computer science from Harvard and resides in Seattle, WA.