The Federal Trade Commission is stepping up scrutiny of large technology companies that hire startup employees and license technology instead of acquiring the companies outright, a practice regulators fear may be used to avoid antitrust review, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the agency has begun examining so-called “acqui-hire” arrangements to determine whether they are being used to sidestep the merger review process. “We are beginning to examine these acqui-hires to make sure they are not an attempt to get around” antitrust oversight, Ferguson said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
The growing trend involves major tech firms paying for access to a startup’s technology and recruiting its key talent, without formally purchasing the company. Regulators worry such deals can consolidate market power while remaining below traditional thresholds that trigger regulatory approval.
Recent high-profile examples include Nvidia, which last month agreed to license chip technology from startup Groq while hiring its chief executive, Jonathan Ross, a former Google engineer. In another case, Microsoft brought in a top AI executive through a $650 million arrangement described as a licensing deal, while Meta Platforms spent about $15 billion to hire the chief executive of Scale AI without acquiring the company.
Amazon has also hired founders from Adept AI under similar circumstances. While these transactions have attracted regulatory attention, none has yet been unwound.
Ferguson attributed the rise of such structures to stricter antitrust enforcement in recent years, arguing that companies have adapted their deal-making strategies in response. The scrutiny comes amid broader political changes at the FTC. U.S. President Donald Trump last year dismissed the agency’s two Democratic commissioners, triggering a legal challenge that could ultimately expand presidential control over independent regulatory bodies.
The FTC’s review signals a potential tightening of oversight on talent-focused deals in the technology sector, as regulators seek to ensure competition rules keep pace with evolving corporate strategies in the AI and startup ecosystem.
