DOJ probes a16z over board seats at rivals Databricks and Fivetran
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Andreessen Horowitz, better known as a16z, over whether its partners improperly hold board seats at two competing AI data companies, according to Bloomberg. The case centers on Ben Horowitz serving on the board of Databricks and Martin Casado serving on the board of Fivetran, both of which are backed by the venture firm. The issue touches a rarely used 1914 law aimed at “interlocking directorates,” a rule the DOJ used repeatedly during the Biden administration to push directors off the boards of competing companies. People familiar with the matter said the probe has been underway for nearly a year and began around the same time the DOJ reviewed Fivetran’s acquisition of dbt Labs, a deal announced in October last year and approved without conditions after months of review. The department has not decided how to resolve the matter and may ultimately take no action. The investigation carries weight because a16z manages $90 billion as of January and has become one of the most influential venture firms in AI, with investments spanning Databricks, Cursor, ElevenLabs, SpaceX, and OpenAI. The case could test how antitrust rules apply when different partners from the same venture firm sit on the boards of rival portfolio companies.
