DOJ probes Andreessen Horowitz over partners sitting on competing AI boards
Key Points
- The US Justice Department is investigating venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz because the firm's partners sit on the boards of directly competing data companies Databricks and Fivetran.
- A US law bans these dual roles to prevent the exchange of sensitive information. What's unusual about the case is that the probe targets the firm directly, not just individuals.
- Andreessen Horowitz holds stakes in AI companies like OpenAI. Its founders donated millions to a pro-Trump group and successfully pushed to roll back AI safety rules.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is the focus of an antitrust probe by the US Justice Department. At issue is whether its partners can sit on the boards of competing AI companies at the same time.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz over a possible antitrust violation, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The core question is whether the firm's partners improperly sit on the boards of competing AI companies.
According to Bloomberg, the case centers on data firms Databricks and Fivetran, both backed by Andreessen Horowitz. Cofounder Ben Horowitz sits on the Databricks board, and partner Martin Casado sits on the Fivetran board. Both companies help businesses collect, organize, and analyze large amounts of data, which puts them in competition with each other.
With about $90 billion in assets under management, Andreessen Horowitz ranks among the world's largest venture capital firms and holds stakes in OpenAI, SpaceX, and ElevenLabs. Databricks was most recently valued at $190 billion.
Why one person shouldn't sit on two boards
The problem stems from a 1914 law that bans so-called interlocking directorates. Put simply, the same person isn't supposed to sit on the leadership boards of two directly competing firms, because they could trade sensitive information and weaken competition. Casado also sat on the board of dbt Labs, which Fivetran acquired in June. The DOJ reviewed that merger for months before clearing it without conditions. The nearly year-old probe began around the same time, Bloomberg reports, and is still ongoing.
These cases usually end with directors stepping down from one of the boards. Under the Biden administration, the DOJ forced executives to resign in about a dozen cases. What's new in the Andreessen Horowitz case is that the probe targets not just one person but the firm itself, because several of its directors sit on competing boards.
The firm's ties to the second Trump administration add another wrinkle. Andreessen Horowitz has aligned itself closely with the White House and, according to Bloomberg, successfully pushed to roll back many AI safety rules that benefit its own portfolio. Horowitz and cofounder Marc Andreessen donated millions to a pro-Trump group in 2024.
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