Ryan Ward

Ryan has a passion for Deep Tech and expertise in working with the founders of complex, science-based companies. As Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, Ryan leads DCVC’s legal execution and strategy. Ryan was most recently General Counsel at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) during an eight-year period of rapid growth at a16z and in the venture capital industry at large. During his tenure at a16z, Ryan helped them expand into investing areas such as biotech and cryptocurrency, and helped build a legal team to address the increased scale and complexity of managing over $30 billion in assets.

Before working at a16z, Ryan was a corporate attorney at Cooley, advising venture capital firms and companies at every stage of growth. Ryan also brings deep company-side insight from having served as an in-house counsel at two public biotech companies. Ryan received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from Harvard Law School.