美国司法部正在调查a16z。这对风险投资意味着什么？

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

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

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 thats rarely used against VCs.

Board conflicts arent exactly new, and these companies werent necessarily direct competitors when a16z first invested in them. But as portfolio companies expand into each others markets, the DOJs 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 TechCrunchs Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean OKane 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” isnt 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 weve reached peak valuation for AI dictation apps after Wisprs $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 networks 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.

Anthony Ha is TechCrunchs 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. He lives in New York City.

You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing anthony.ha@techcrunch.com.

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 TechCrunchs 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.

You can contact or verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at kkorosec.07 on Signal.

Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.

You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing sean.okane@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal.

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