He is the co-author of Mosaic , the first widely used web browser with a graphical user interface; co-founder of Netscape ; and co-founder and general partner of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He co-founded and later sold the software company Opsware to Hewlett-Packard ; he also co-founded Ning , a company that provides a platform for social networking websites. After being shown the ViolaWWW graphic web browser in late , Andreessen and full-time salaried co-worker Eric Bina worked on creating a browser with integrated graphics that could be ported to a wide range of computers, including Windows.
The result was the Mosaic web browser released in A few people noticed that the Web might be better than Gopher. Several million then suddenly noticed that the Web might be better than sex. Andreessen then met with Jim Clark , the founder of Silicon Graphics , who had recently exited the firm.
Clark believed the Mosaic browser had great commercial possibilities and suggested starting an Internet software company.
Soon, Mosaic Communications Corporation was in business in Mountain View, California , with Andreessen as co-founder and vice president of technology. The University of Illinois was unhappy with the company's use of the Mosaic name, so Mosaic Communications changed its name to Netscape Communications, and its flagship Web browser was the Netscape Navigator. Netscape's IPO in put Andreessen in the public eye. He was on the cover of Time [ 10 ] [ 11 ] and other publications.
Andreessen's hiring as its chief technical officer was contingent on the completion of the acquisition. Loudcloud sold its hosting business to EDS and changed its name to Opsware in , with Andreessen serving as chairman.
