The Future of Software Development - Vibe Coding, Prompt Engineering & AI Assistants

Is AI the Fourth Pillar of Infrastructure?

Infrastructure doesn’t go away — it layers. And today, AI is emerging as a new foundational layer alongside compute, storage, and networking.

Erik Torenberg interviews a16z’s Martin Casado, Jennifer Li, and Matt Bornstein breaking down how infrastructure is evolving in the age of AI — from models and agents to developer tools and shifting user behavior.

We dive into what infra actually means today, how it differs from enterprise, and why software itself is being disrupted. Plus, we explore the rise of technical users as buyers, what makes infra companies defensible, and how past waves — from the cloud to COVID to AI — are reshaping how we build and invest.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Infrastructure
00:48 Defining Infrastructure and Its Components
02:27 The Fourth Layer: AI Models
06:34 The Evolution of Infrastructure
17:46 Developer Tools and the AI Wave
21:27 Data Engine Systems
22:11 Defensibility in AI Infrastructure
25:28 Expansion and Contraction Phases
27:09 Challenges in AI and Infrastructure
28:32 AI Models and Generalization
30:59 Thoughts on Andrej Karpathy's Talk on AI
34:09 AI and Human Expectations
36:18 The Role of Developers in the AI Era
40:31 Synthetic Data
43:17 AI Agents
45:16 Vertical Integration vs. Horizontal Specialization

Resources:
Find Martin on X: https://x.com/martin_casado
Find Jennifer on X: https://x.com/JenniferHli
Find Matt on X: https://x.com/BornsteinMatt

Stay Updated:
Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.