Last week, Waltham-based big data startup Cazena announced that it would launch with an infusion of $8 million in venture funding from Andreessen Horowitz and North Bridge Venture Partners.

It was the first Series A funding round ever for a Boston-area company by Andreessen Horowitz, the well-known venture firm based in Menlo Park, Calif.,and founded in part by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

I spoke with Peter Levine, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, about why the firm chose to invest in…