What is Marc Andreessen’s IQ?
He co-wrote the browser that put the web on the cover of the New York Times, and no IQ score has been published.
Marc Andreessen has no published IQ score, and no figure circulates for him. Our Marc Andreessen IQ estimate is 130–145, as of November 2026, from a documented record: a computer science degree from the University of Illinois in December 1993, co-creation of the Mosaic web browser at its supercomputing center, and co-founding Netscape.
Marc Andreessen’s estimated IQ
- A bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in December 1993 (Wikipedia).
- Work on NCSA Mosaic as a student at the university’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications, alongside developer Eric Bina; by December 1993 the browser was being downloaded more than 5,000 times a month (NCSA).
- Co-founder and vice president of technology of Mosaic Communications, renamed Netscape, in Mountain View, California; Netscape’s 1995 public offering followed (Wikipedia).
- A second company, Loudcloud, later Opsware, and the venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, announced on July 6, 2009 (Wikipedia).
A degree, a software product and a business record show ability and drive, not a score. No test, school rank or honors designation is published for him, and his business success depends on timing, partners and capital as much as on reasoning. The range sits a little below the 135–150 this site gives other technology founders.
- Born
- July 9, 1971, Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Education
- BS in computer science, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, December 1993
- Mosaic
- Co-developed at NCSA with Eric Bina; more than 5,000 downloads a month by December 1993
- Netscape
- Co-founded Mosaic Communications (later Netscape) with Jim Clark; IPO in 1995
- Opsware
- Co-founded Loudcloud, later Opsware; acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2007
- Venture capital
- Andreessen Horowitz announced July 6, 2009
- Published scores
- None: no IQ, SAT or school test result
- Circulating figure
- None found
What an IQ of 130–145 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Marc Andreessen is
Who is Marc Andreessen? He was born on July 9, 1971, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He has said he discovered programming at 12 (Wikipedia). In December 1993 he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. As an undergraduate he interned twice at IBM in Austin, Texas, and he worked at NCSA, where the Mosaic browser was developed.
What did he do after Illinois? He moved to California in 1993, met Silicon Graphics founder Jim Clark, and co-founded Mosaic Communications in Mountain View as vice president of technology. The University of Illinois objected to the Mosaic name, so the company became Netscape Communications. Netscape’s 1995 public offering put him in the public eye, and AOL bought the company in 1999 for $4.3 billion (Wikipedia).
What came later? He co-founded Loudcloud, later renamed Opsware, which Hewlett-Packard acquired in 2007. On July 6, 2009 he and Ben Horowitz announced Andreessen Horowitz. We do not assess his investments or politics here. See other leaders in our business category, or take the IQ Metrics test to see where your own score falls.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
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Marc Andreessen: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1971Born July 9 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
- c. 1983Discovers programming at age 12 (his own statement, per Wikipedia).
- 1993Graduates from the University of Illinois in December; Mosaic appears the same year.
- 1994Leaves NCSA; Mosaic Communications, founded in Mountain View, is soon renamed Netscape.
- 1995Netscape’s public offering puts him in the public eye.
- 1999AOL acquires Netscape for $4.3 billion.
- 2007Hewlett-Packard acquires Opsware.
- 2009Andreessen Horowitz is announced on July 6.
Why no figure circulates
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
What is Marc Andreessen’s IQ? No score has been published, and a web search found no page that states one with a test and a date. He is a living person, so this page uses facts from his education and career and nothing about his opinions or investments. For how celebrity numbers are made and why most are not tests, see where celebrity IQ numbers come from.
Did he invent the web browser? No, and the University of Illinois does not say so. Its NCSA page notes that Tim Berners-Lee built a rudimentary browser in 1990, before anyone at NCSA wrote code, and describes Andreessen as “an NCSA student who also worked on the project,” crediting developer Eric Bina’s programming skill for much of what made Mosaic easy to run. Mosaic was the first published browser to show pictures alongside text. That is a co-creation, and it supports a high but not extreme estimate.
How does his record compare with other technology founders? Mark Zuckerberg is 135–145 on this site, Peter Thiel 135–150 and Linus Torvalds 145–160. All four have a documented record and none has a published test score. For research on programmers as a group, see what the research on software engineers actually measured.
Why does IQ come up for tech investors? Because founders and investors are famous and their success is often read as proof of brains. For research on wealth and ability, see the Swedish data on billionaires. A scale with a mean of 100 and an SD of 15 puts 130 at about the 98th percentile and 145 at about the 99.9th, which our percentile calculator converts.
How we read a number →Tim Berners-Lee’s rudimentary 1990 browser; Mosaic as the first published browser to show pictures with text; “Marc [Andreessen, an NCSA student who also worked on the project]”; credit to developer Eric Bina’s programming; more than 5,000 downloads a month by December 1993. It gives no IQ.
Born July 9, 1971, in Cedar Falls, Iowa; programming at 12; BS in computer science, December 1993; two IBM internships; Mosaic with Eric Bina; Mosaic Communications and Netscape; the 1995 IPO; AOL’s $4.3 billion purchase in 1999; Opsware; Andreessen Horowitz announced July 6, 2009. The article gives no IQ.
Confirms Q62882 is the American entrepreneur, investor and software engineer, not a namesake.
Photograph by JD Lasica, October 3, 2013, Pando Monthly, San Francisco, from his Flickr stream; licensed CC BY 2.0.
Ranges used for comparison: Zuckerberg 135–145, Thiel 135–150, Torvalds 145–160.
The NCSA page, Wikipedia and a web search for a stated score found no IQ test result, SAT score or Mensa listing for Marc Andreessen. A few low-quality pages mention a figure without a source and are not cited.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Marc Andreessen, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
People search for “Marc Andreessen IQ” and “Marc Andreessen IQ score,” but we found no page that gives a number for him with a test, a date and a source.
The University of Illinois’s NCSA page, Wikipedia and a web search for a stated figure give degrees, products and companies but no IQ, SAT result or Mensa listing. A few low-quality pages mention an IQ claim, and none names a source.
Only our range ends are shown, because no figure circulates. Both ends are judgments about a documented record, not about a test.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Marc Andreessen — frequently asked
What is Marc Andreessen’s IQ?
Marc Andreessen has no published IQ score. Our own Marc Andreessen IQ estimate is 130–145 as of November 2026, drawn from his computer science degree, his work on the Mosaic browser and his co-founding of Netscape. It is a judgment about a record, not a test result.
Did Marc Andreessen finish college?
Yes. He received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in December 1993, according to Wikipedia. He had interned twice at IBM and worked at the university’s NCSA, where the Mosaic browser was developed.
Did Marc Andreessen invent the web browser?
No. Tim Berners-Lee built a rudimentary browser in 1990, and the University of Illinois describes Andreessen as an NCSA student who also worked on Mosaic, which developer Eric Bina’s programming made easy to run. Mosaic was the first published browser to display pictures with text.
Marc Andreessen vs Zuckerberg vs Thiel: whose record is documented?
All three have documented degrees and companies and none has a published test. On this site Andreessen is 130–145, Mark Zuckerberg 135–145 and Peter Thiel 135–150. The ranges overlap, so none can be called higher.
Is there a Marc Andreessen SAT score?
No SAT score has been published for him, and the sources we read do not mention one. His documented education is the University of Illinois degree in computer science in December 1993. A published SAT result would be the only way to anchor an estimate on a test.
Why does IQ come up for tech investors?
Because founders and investors are famous and their success is often read as proof of ability. Success also depends on timing, partners and capital. A published score is the only direct evidence of IQ, and none exists for Andreessen.
What does an IQ of 130 to 145 mean?
On a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, 130 is about the 98th percentile and 145 about the 99.9th. For Andreessen those numbers are an estimate from a record, not a measured result.
How does my IQ compare with Marc Andreessen?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other business & tech profiles, starting with Steve Jobs.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More business & tech profiles — same field, same method
More business & tech
Photograph by Gage Skidmore (Scottsdale, Arizona, 2022), CC BY-SA 3.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait by Jeff Sainlar, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Krd (LinuxCon Europe, October 2014; cropped by Von Sprat), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above.
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