DOJ Probes Andreessen Horowitz Over Competing Board Seats
AI-generated image · US National Wire
Federal investigators are examining whether venture capital board placements violate century-old antitrust laws as portfolio companies overlap.
The Department of Justice has reportedly spent nearly a year investigating board seat arrangements at Andreessen Horowitz, according to TechCrunch. The probe focuses on the firm's partners holding seats at companies that have become competitors.
Specifically, TechCrunch reports that Ben Horowitz sits on the board of Databricks, while Martin Casado holds a board seat at Fivetran. While the two companies may not have been direct competitors at the time of the initial investments, the DOJ is now scrutinizing the arrangement as the firms have expanded into each other's markets.
To conduct the investigation, the DOJ is utilizing a 112-year-old antitrust law. TechCrunch notes that this specific legislation is rarely applied to venture capital firms. The investigation highlights a growing tension for VCs regarding how to manage board governance when the market boundaries between portfolio companies shift over time.