DOJ’s probe into Andreessen Horowitz over board seats baffles VCs
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz over potential antitrust violations related to its partners holding board seats at competing companies. The probe focuses on the firm's simultaneous board representation at Databricks and Fivetran, which have become rivals in the data pipeline market.
Why it matters
This investigation could set a significant legal precedent for how venture capital firms manage board seats and conflicts of interest in rapidly evolving tech markets.
The Justice Department has launched a probe into Andreessen Horowitz regarding the firm’s partners serving on the boards of competing companies, Bloomberg reported .
The nearly year-long investigation focuses specifically on the firm’s board seats at Databricks, which is valued at $190 billion, and Fivetran, which combined with dbt Labs in June. The firm’s co-founder, Ben Horowitz, serves on the board of Databricks, while partner Martin Casado serves on the board of Fivetran.
Several VCs told TechCrunch they were surprised by news of the probe. Databricks and Fivetran are competitors now, but the two companies weren’t rivals when a16z invested in the startups, according to another Databricks investor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Databricks is largely known for its cloud storage products but, with its Lakeflow product, has expanded into AI data pipelines and application connectors. That’s Fivetran’s main business.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in