As others have said, this is classic selection-effect. Lina Khan isn't coming out and telling people about
- the companies that died because acquiring them was too much of a hassle
- the companies that died or never got funded / started because the investors couldn't see and exit path
- the companies that got acquired piecemeal (Windsurf, Inflection), leaving the early employees with NOTHING simply to avoid the ire of anti-trust hawks at the FTC. This has irreversibly damaged the SV bargain - early startup employees work hard in case of an acquisition, they get rich.
So Lina Khan can keep patting her own back but there's a reason founders, early-stage startup employees and investors disagree.
> the companies that died because acquiring them was too much of a hassle
So it was a shitty non-viable business
> the companies that died or never got funded / started because the investors couldn't see and exit path
More shitty non-viable business. Creating a company only to sell it and screw over your customers is evil.
Maybe those founders should try to make real businesses, instead of playing glorified rollette.
> the companies that got acquired piecemeal (Windsurf, Inflection), leaving the early employees with NOTHING simply to avoid the ire of anti-trust hawks at the FTC
Plain-old loop hole exploitation. Simple anit-competetive stealth aquihire that isn't called so. My conclusion is that the market needs more regulations.
Does your ideal market only contain 5 or mega-corps that control every aspect of our lives?