Andreessen Horowitz faces DOJ antitrust probe over board roles

The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an antitrust investigation into venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The probe examines whether investment partners are improperly serving on the boards of competing artificial intelligence and data companies.

Specifically, the investigation involves Databricks Inc. and Fivetran Inc., both of which are backed by the firm. Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz serves on the board of Databricks, while partner Martin Casado is a board member of Fivetran. Both companies specialize in data collection and analysis.

The investigation reportedly began nearly a year ago, coinciding with a DOJ review of Fivetran’s acquisition of dbt labs. While the merger was ultimately cleared, the probe into potential board conflicts has continued. Resolving such antitrust matters often requires directors to resign from competing boards to eliminate conflicts of interest.