The DOJ is investigating a16z. What does this mean for venture capital?
techcrunch ·
The article reports that the Department of Justice is investigating venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) over board seats held by partners at two competing portfolio companies. Ben Horowitz sits on Databricks' board and Martin Casado on Fivetran's, and the DOJ has reportedly been probing this for nearly a year under a 112-year-old antitrust law rarely used against VCs. Although the companies were not direct competitors when a16z first invested, their markets have since overlapped. The investigation highlights a broader challenge for venture firms: managing board conflicts as portfolio companies evolve into rivals. The Equity podcast episode also covers other tech news, including Stripe's reported $7.5 billion acquisition of AI model router OpenRouter. Other topics include AI companies squeezed between leaders like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia, Rivian spinout Also's $150 million raise for autonomous vehicles, Uber's drone delivery partnership with Zipline, and Wispr's $280 million funding at a $2 billion valuation.
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