Christian Keil joins Andreessen Horowitz from Astranis to invest in aerospace and defense
Jan 26, 2026 with Christian Keil
Key Points
- Christian Keil joins Andreessen Horowitz as a partner investing in aerospace and defense, departing Astranis where he spent his entire post-MBA career rising to VP.
- Keil argues the satellite internet market remains in its infancy with no dominant winner emerging, comparing the sector's trajectory to the decades-long buildout of terrestrial internet from ARPANET.
- Before joining a16z, Keil co-produced "More Perfect," a 346-page research report on American competitiveness and industrial capacity that helped initiate conversations with the firm.
Summary
Christian Keil has joined Andreessen Horowitz as an investor focused on aerospace, defense, and hard tech, moving directly from his operating role at Astranis, the San Francisco-based satellite communications company. Keil spent his entire post-business school career at Astranis, progressing from individual contributor to VP as the company scaled, giving him direct exposure to satellite deployment, defense contracting, and sovereign connectivity deals.
His investment focus at a16z will center on aerospace and defense, with plans to develop a formal industry thesis as his first major intellectual output at the firm. He will continue spending time in Washington DC, a role he maintained at Astranis given the company's defense business. On deal sourcing, Keil is candid that a16z's inbound volume is substantial enough that his primary value-add is analytical credibility, not proprietary flow.
On the satellite internet market, Keil argues the sector is in its earliest stages and no single company will own the outcome, drawing an explicit parallel to the multi-decade, multi-actor buildout of the terrestrial internet from ARPANET forward. He notes Astranis announced a new dedicated satellite deal with Oman on the day of this recording, consistent with its sovereign and enterprise-grade positioning. His read on Blue Origin's new constellation is that it appears oriented toward laser communications rather than traditional RF, differentiating it from Starlink's mass-consumer approach. AST SpaceMobile, which trades at a $40 billion market cap, was flagged as part of a broader constellation wave that shows no sign of consolidating.
Before joining a16z, Keil co-produced "More Perfect", a 346-page research report covering American competitiveness, industrial capacity, and long-run economic trajectory, available at moreperfect.tech. A companion piece covering the 1776 to 1980 period was published simultaneously in Arena Magazine. The report originated as a personal exercise to broaden his analytical frame after years of deep operational focus on satellite communications. It appears to have served as a calling card, with Keil acknowledging the document was part of what initiated conversations with a16z in the first place.
Keil is also loosely affiliated with an emerging Astranis alumni network, which he describes as eclectic, spanning film production, political office, and startup founding. He remains based in San Francisco.