One of the most amusing incidents in the VC world this week came from a piece of rage-bait advertising by General Catalyst.

In a now-famous post on X that mocks the classic Mac vs. PC commercials, the venture firm — commonly referred to as GC — shared a “VC vs GC” video on Wednesday. The VC was portrayed by a tall actor dressed in a loose shirt and vest, sporting an unusually large, bald head — a clear jab at Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen. (However, the real Andreessen typically doesn’t appear that unkempt).

The GC character was depicted by a man with a voluminous head of dark hair, wearing white sneakers, and exhibiting a tendency to gaze intently into the camera. He was undoubtedly meant to embody the cooler, “hip” Mac character personified by actor Justin Long in the original ads, in opposition to John Hodgman’s more conventional “square” PC figure.

GC inquires about VC’s robotic dog.

VC responds, “This is Woof AI” and then praises the advantages of the digital pet (no need to walk it or break it to the kids when it passes away!) and asserts, “You’ll never wish for a real dog once you’ve had this.” VC mentions that his firm is spearheading the seed round and suggests GC to get involved in the cap table.

GC articulates that people prefer real dogs and notes, “I’d be interested in hearing more, but we have a very high standard regarding responsibility for these things.”

Then VC kicks the AI dog and the dog pursues him off the screen. The post has now amassed 2.4 million views along with numerous shares and comments, and thousands of likes.

I’d have to read extensively between the lines to fully grasp this, but I’ll attempt it nevertheless. The core message, roughly: Other VCs, particularly a16z, are willing to fund anything. GC is not. (I inquired about this. GC has yet to reply.)

If this is indeed the argument, it is a pointed one and not completely unfounded. Andreessen’s firm frequently invests in ventures considered controversial, such as the surveillance company Flock Safety, AI notetaker Cluely, and Adam Neumann’s Flow. However, the same standard could just as well be applied to General Catalyst. GC’s portfolio features Anduril, Percepta, and Polymarket.

My interpretation is that GC aimed to portray an a16z-style character booting a dog, without any actual dog being harmed as that would pose a significant issue.

Many of the reactions to the video appeared to view it, and the decision to share it, as cringe-worthy. However, plenty also expressed their enjoyment.

Compulsive user Andreessen himself couldn’t help but respond repeatedly. He stated it made GC appear “smarmy” and added, “Stay tuned for our upcoming advertisement campaign, ‘We’re the VC who doesn’t scoff at your idea.'” He continued from there. My personal favorite was: “The thing they got right is the relative heights.”

As others pointed out, you know you’ve hit the right rage bait when the target responds.

Numerous a16z partners and staff came to Andreessen’s defense as well. So much so that their responses generated a considerable number of comments. A standout for me in this category was from VSC Ventures VC Jay Kapoor: “GC vs. A16Z feud is akin to Kendrick vs. Drake for those who understand what a 409A valuation is.”