Andreessen announced in his blog Monday (July 6) he and partner Ben Horowitz have opened a new venture company called Andreessen Horowitz. The company will invest from $50,000 to $50 million in a wide variety of electronics startups with a focus on Silicon Valley companies driven by a technologist.

Andreessen said investment areas will include consumer Internet, cloud computing, mobile software, "software-powered consumer electronics," networking, storage and databases. The fund will not focus on areas such as clean/green technology, energy and life sciences, he added.

The new effort comes at a time when VC firms have seen a six-year decline in deals and are facing growing problems raising funds. Semiconductor startups are feeling particularly squeezed in the current tight economy.

Many top VCs say the high tech sector has suffered from a decade of over-investments and predict a period of fewer funds and venture investment firms. In what amounts to his online manifesto, Andreessen said "technology change creates continuous opportunity to build important and valuable new companies" despite an investment climate that "whips wildly between euphoria and depression."

Andreessen said he has worked with Horowitz for 15 years, starting three companies directly, angel invested in 45 tech startups in the last five years, and served on a broad cross-section of company boards," he said.

The company will maintain its only office in Silicon Valley which it expects to be the focus of most of its investments. Andreessen said he will continue to serve as chairman of Web 2.0 startup Ning and serve on the boards of Facebook and eBay.