DOJ Probes Andreessen Horowitz Over Competing Board Seats Under Century-Old Antitrust Law

The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz for nearly a year over a potential board conflict. The probe centers on two a16z partners — Ben Horowitz at Databricks and Martin Casado at Fivetran — who sit on the boards of companies that have since become competitors. Authorities are applying a 112-year-old antitrust statute that is rarely invoked against venture capital firms. The companies were not considered direct competitors when a16z originally made its investments, making the case legally nuanced. The investigation highlights growing regulatory scrutiny of VC firms' overlapping board representations in the tech sector.