Quote of the day by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen: 'Software is eating the world' a pithy assessment of the modern tech landscape

Date:
Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
The venture capitalist and tech entrepreneur explained in a famous essay how software infiltrated every industry

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Marc Andreessen was a prominent figure in the early internet era, creating some of the earliest web browsers, including Netscape and Mosaic, which he authored. In recent years, he's weighed in on subjects including AI but it was his comments on software that really summarised how technology evolved during the early 21st century. "Software is eating the world." Marc Andreessen, August 2011 Inside Intel Andreessen was running his venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, when he published his era-defining essay in the Wall Street Journal . Quote of the
day This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an
insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here . The essay highlighted the dramatic shifts underway across the economy, with Andreessen centering his argument on the observation that software companies were poised to take over longstanding industries via the massive shift among consumers to online and digital spaces. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

One example he highlighted was a misstep by the book retailer Borders, which closed all its US stores in 2011. In 2001, it handed over its online business to Amazon because, he argued, it saw online book sales as "non-strategic and unimportant".

Well, as Andreessen put it, "oops." He then highlighted Amazon's role as a software company with a core engine capable of selling virtually everything online. You may like Quote of the day by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: "Software
is eating the world, but AI is going to eat software" A prophetic statement predicting the impending death of software Quote of the day by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen: 'We believe any deceleration of AI will cost lives' a full-throated defense of the AI buildout "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home": Quote of the day late tech exec Ken Olsen Dog eat dog In the cut and thrust of business over hundreds of years, there have been wave after wave of revolution, with new technologies overhauling and refreshing the landscape. Many businesses have persisted by adapting and pivoting, but the rapid proliferation of software over the last 30 years is now threatening to give way to an entirely new era.

Andreessen highlighted that, in 2011, the stock market "actually hates technology", and there's an argument to make that the stock market has once again turned its back on some of the biggest software giants, with AI threatening to make them redundant . Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
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A few years on, Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia , even built on the idea that the Netscape co-founder set out 15 years ago by suggesting that "AI is going to eat software" .



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