Kofi Ampadu, the a16z partner who led the company’s funding and Talent x Opportunity (TxO) program, has left the company, according to an email he sent to staff obtained by TechCrunch. It comes months after The company shut down TxO and laid off most of its staff.

“During my time at the company, I am very grateful for the opportunity and trust to lead this work,” Ampadu wrote in the email, sent Friday afternoon, with the subject line “Closing My a16z Chapter.” “Identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they hone their ideas, raise capital, and become confident leaders has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career,” he wrote.

Ampadu led the program, which was launched in 2020, for more than four years until it stopped in November, replacing the first leader, Nait Jones. Afterwards, Ampadu seems to work on a16z’s newest accelerator, Speedrun.

Ampadu’s departure may have signaled the end of the TxO chapter. The fund and program is focused on supporting underserved founders by providing access to tech networks and investment capital through a donor-advised fund. Although some founders spoke highly of the program, others criticized the controversial donor-advised structure. The program also launched a grant program in 2024 to give $50,000 to nonprofits that help different founders.

Its last cohort was in March 2025, and its indefinite hiatus came as many top tech names reframed, cut, or scrapped earlier public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have contacted a16z and Ampadu for comment.

His full note below:

I moved to the United States three months before my 11th birthday. A month ago, I started 6th grade at a school over 5,000 miles from my home, my friends, and everything familiar. Recently, my mom reminded me that my school required me to enroll as an English-as-a-Second-Language student. My memory immediately returned to the confusion I felt. Even at the age of 10, I knew it made no sense that a child from Ghana, an English-speaking country, was asked to study a language he was already fluent in.

It is a system requirement, a veiled assumption of what students from certain areas can or cannot do. That same kind of systemic assumption is what we set out to challenge through the Talent x Opportunity Initiative. The venture ecosystem often relies on proxies like schools, networks, and prior credentials, which can hide exceptional founders who don’t follow conventional paths. TxO invests in and supports these overlooked founders to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.

During my time at the company, I am very grateful for the opportunity and trust to lead this work. Getting to know out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they hone their ideas, raise capital, and become confident leaders has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career.

As I move on to my next chapter, I leave with pride in what we have built and gratitude to all who helped shape it. Thank you for the trust, collaboration, and belief in what is possible. There is more work to be done and I am excited to continue building.