Marc Andreessen

Guide Note

Marc Andreessen is a blogger, inventor, investor and software engineer. Andreessen received a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mosaic is a the first graphical based web browser to browse Internet pages. It was co-founded by Andreessen and became one of the most well-known pieces of software.

In 1993, along with Jim Clark, Andreessen helped found Netscape and together they released a new browser named Netscape Navigator, which like Mosaic, was also available for free to run on any computer. Later in 1995, when the Internet dot-com bubble was emerging, Andreessen was the front runner and the image of this era. Because of the success of Netscape Navigator, it attracted the eyes of Microsoft, who in turn released their own publicly and free browser Internet Explorer.

Andreessen is currently involved in many projects, such as investment in Digg and several other technology startups. Andreessen's most current project is Ning, which launched in October 2005 and allows users to create their own social networks easily.

Fast Facts

1. Born: July 9, 1971
2. Birthplace: Cedar Falls, Iowa
3. Founder of the first graphical web browser
4. Poster boy for the dot-com boom
5. College: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
6. His company, Netscape, was bought out by AOL in 1999