Urbit Foundation Spins Out Urban Tiger with Support from Andreessen Horowitz
The Urbit ecosystem is entering a new phase of focus and momentum. The Urbit Foundation (UF) has announced the creation of Urban Tiger (UT), a new for-profit company that will accelerate adoption efforts and bring Urbit’s planet-backed token to market — a move made possible by the continued support of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Earlier this year, a16z invested $4 million into the Urbit Foundation, strengthening its balance sheet and making today’s restructuring possible. That investment, one of the most significant in Urbit’s history, laid the groundwork for this new organizational model: the Foundation will focus exclusively on core development of Arvo, Urbit’s foundational operating system, while Urban Tiger will drive commercial traction and ecosystem growth.
Urban Tiger will be led by ~sorreg-namtyv, who is capitalizing the new company with 1,020 stars. The Foundation will purchase 660 of those stars for $1.2 million, effectively restoring part of its early treasury position from the a16z funding. UF retains $1.8 million to support ongoing operations and core protocol work.
To ensure long-term alignment, the Foundation and Urban Tiger have agreed to a performance-based incentive structure. Urban Tiger will earn additional stars if it successfully launches the Urbit token within 12 months and achieves measurable liquidity and adoption milestones. The top reward tier — 2,000 stars — would be triggered if the star price reaches a new all-time high of $30,000.
With its recent board election completed, the Foundation is now operating with a refreshed and independent structure. The new board includes ~lavlyn-litmeg, ~palfun-foslup, and ~hocfur-modlex, with ~malmur-halmex as Supervisor. ~sicdev-pilnup continues as Executive Director, ensuring continuity through the transition.
In its first meeting, the new board reaffirmed a commitment to transparency and disciplined execution, including publishing regular summaries of activities and finances. The Foundation’s onchain assets and multisig addresses have been publicly disclosed for accountability.
Backed by a16z’s early confidence and strengthened by a clearer division of responsibilities, Urbit now enters what leaders are calling its most stable and focused phase yet — one where core development, commercial traction, and community governance finally align.