The DOJ is investigating a16z. What does this mean for venture capital?

Key Highlights

• 5 billion for AI model router OpenRouter, and why the “singularity” isn’t the real reason What happens to the AI companies caught in the middle as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia pull further ahead Why Rivian spinout Also just raised $150 million to make a bigger bet on autonomous vehicles Uber’s newest delivery partnership with drone company Zipline, and what it means for the other autonomous startups betting their futures on Uber Whether we’ve reached peak valuation for AI dictation apps after Wispr’s $280 million raise at a $2 billion valuation Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
• Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why Stripe paid $7.
• Nothing too scandalous on the surface, except the Department of Justice has reportedly been investigating the arrangement for almost a year, dusting off a 112-year-old antitrust law that’s rarely used against VCs.
• Board conflicts aren’t exactly new, and these companies weren’t necessarily direct competitors when a16z first invested in them.
• But as portfolio companies expand into each other’s markets, the DOJ’s scrutiny raises a much bigger question for venture firms: How do you manage board seats when the boundaries between your portfolio companies keep moving?

Andreessen Horowitz has two partners sitting on the boards of companies that now compete with each other: Ben Horowitz at Databricks and Martin Casado at Fivetran.

Nothing too scandalous on the surface, except the Department of Justice has reportedly been investigating the arrangement for almost a year, dusting off a 112-year-old antitrust law that’s rarely used against VCs.

Board conflicts aren’t exactly new, and these companies weren’t necessarily direct competitors when a16z first invested in them.

But as portfolio companies expand into each other’s markets, the DOJ’s scrutiny raises a much bigger question for venture firms: How do you manage board seats when the boundaries between your portfolio companies keep moving?

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into the a16z probe, what it could mean for VCs, and more of the week’s headlines.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why Stripe paid $7.

5 billion for AI model router OpenRouter, and why the “singularity” isn’t the real reason What happens to the AI companies caught in the middle as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia pull further ahead Why Rivian spinout Also just raised $150 million to make a bigger bet on autonomous vehicles Uber’s newest delivery partnership with drone company Zipline, and what it means for the other autonomous startups betting their futures on Uber Whether we’ve reached peak valuation for AI dictation apps after Wispr’s $280 million raise at a $2 billion valuation Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.

You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast.

Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband.

Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.

You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing theresa.

loconsolo@techcrunch.

com.

View Bio Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor.

Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm.

View Bio

View Bio

Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.

Originally reported by TechCrunch Business. TechVeb news desk.