DOJ reportedly probes Andreessen Horowitz over board overlaps at competing portfolio companies

The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) for nearly a year over whether board overlaps at two portfolio companies—Databricks and Fivetran—create anticompetitive conflicts as their markets converge.

The probe reportedly involves the department dusting off a rarely used 112-year-old antitrust law to scrutinize the arrangement, signaling heightened federal interest in venture capital governance practices.

a16z partners Ben Horowitz and Martin Casado sit on the boards of Databricks and Fivetran, respectively. While the firms were not direct competitors when a16z first invested, their expansion into adjacent markets has drawn regulatory attention.

The investigation raises broader questions for venture firms about managing board seats when portfolio companies’ boundaries shift over time, particularly in fast-moving sectors like AI and data infrastructure.

The case could set a precedent for how venture capitalists navigate conflicts of interest and antitrust risks as their portfolio companies scale and enter new markets.