Unscarcity
Sign in for free: Preamble (PDF, ebook & audiobook) + Forum access + Direct purchases Sign In
The Justice Department Spent a Year Asking Whether Silicon Valley's Biggest Investor Sits on Both Sides of the AI Race
Ep. 155 04:15

The Justice Department Spent a Year Asking Whether Silicon Valley's Biggest Investor Sits on Both Sides of the AI Race

Listen on Spotify Source Article Share

About This Episode

Bloomberg reported that the DOJ has run a nearly year-long antitrust probe into Andreessen Horowitz over whether its partners improperly serve on the boards of competing AI-data companies, Databricks and Fivetran. The statute at issue, Section 8 of the Clayton Act, is 112 years old and has almost never been applied to venture capital. Axios reports the exemptions that spared startups are eroding as AI companies grow to hundreds of billions in value.

Our Take

A 112-year-old antitrust law is being aimed at the venture model, forcing the question of whether the AI race has real rivals or just one set of investors sitting on both sides of the table.