Andreessen Backing New Browser from Start-Up RockMelt

RockMelt, a start-up creating a new Web browser, has the backing of someone who knows a little something about creating a new Web browser: Netscape Communications founder and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen, according to The New York Times.

RockMelt was co-founded by former Opsware executives Eric Vishria and Tim Howes, and the latter worked with Andreessen at Netscape. Andreessen co-founded Opsware and sold it to Hewlett-Packard in 2007, according to the Times.

The Times added that RockMelt may be connected to Facebook, which Andreessen is a director of, reporting that a since-removed privacy policy on the site said people could use a Facebook ID to log into RockMelt, possibly hinting that the browser may be tailored to display Facebook updates and other features as users browse the Web.

“There are all kinds of things that you would do differently if you are building a browser from scratch,” Andreessen told the newspaper. Vishria would not elaborate, telling the Times, “We are at very early stages of development. Talking about it at this stage is not useful.”

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