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DOJ reportedly probes Andreessen Horowitz over board seats at competing companies Databricks and Fivetran
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The Justice Department is investigating whether Andreessen Horowitz violated antitrust law by holding board seats at Databricks and Fivetran, two portfolio companies that became competitors after Databricks expanded into data pipelines.
If the DOJ forces a16z to surrender a board seat, founders may place less value on board commitments from top-tier VCs, since future portfolio overlaps could trigger forced resignations. The probe tests Section 8 of the Clayton Act, a 112-year-old rule that regulators have rarely applied to venture capital.
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The probe targets Ben Horowitz's board seat at Databricks and Martin Casado's seat at Fivetran, companies that became rivals after Databricks expanded into data pipelines with its Lakeflow product.
The investigation invokes Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which bars individuals or entities from serving on boards of competing companies, a rule rarely enforced against venture firms.
VCs argue the conflict is manageable via a Chinese wall between the two partners and that portfolio overlaps are inevitable given a16z's hundreds of investments.
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