☁️The Bulletin #64: Google's Antitrust Lawsuit, Amazon Invests in Anthropic and Bluesky, Twitter's Heir Apparent
In this week's bulletin- the DOJ pushes for Google to divest Chrome, Amazon's $4B investment in Anthropic, and X users leaving for bluer skies🐤
Hey there! Happy (early) Thanksgiving 🦃 I hope that you spend this week surrounded by loved ones💓, eating great food🍝, and enjoying some time away from school.
💡For this semester, keep up with our content if you’re interested in:
Demystifying & breaking into VC
Finding opportunities in the start-up world
Keeping up with VC investment news at Brown & beyond (pro tip: this is essential to breaking in and finding opportunities)
Enjoy the Bulletin!😊
⚖️DOJ Proposes Breakup of Google: A Landmark Antitrust Push
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed major remedies to address Google’s monopoly in the search market, including forcing the tech giant to divest its Chrome browser (67% global market share) and possibly Android (71% mobile OS market share). These measures aim to dismantle Google’s integrated ecosystem that locks users into its services.
👩⚖️Why Does It Matter?
Google’s dominance in search is bolstered by exclusive agreements, such as the $26.3 billion annual deals with Apple and Samsung to make Google Search the default option on their devices. The DOJ argues that these practices suppress competition, harm rivals, and stifle innovation. This case, following the August ruling that Google violated antitrust laws, could redefine the tech landscape and set a precedent for regulating Big Tech.
⚒️How Will It Work?
The DOJ’s proposals include:
Divestiture: Forcing Google to sell Chrome and potentially Android to foster competition.
Exclusive Agreements Ban: Blocking deals that make Google the default search engine.
Data Sharing: Requiring Google to share search data with rivals and allow publishers to opt out of Google’s AI training models.
Long-Term Oversight: Implementing a 10-year enforcement period to monitor compliance.
This case marks one of the most significant antitrust efforts since the Microsoft breakup attempt in 2000, with implications for other tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and Meta. We’re watching closely to see how this unfolds. 🔎
🛒Amazon’s $4 Billion Bet on Anthropic
Amazon has doubled down on its partnership with Anthropic, investing another $4 billion, bringing its total stake to $8 billion since September 2023. Anthropic, a leading generative AI startup, has positioned itself as a rival to OpenAI and Google in the race to dominate artificial intelligence. Known for its chatbot Claude, Anthropic specializes in tools that leverage vast datasets to generate humanlike text and images—key technologies that are transforming the tech sector.
This investment reflects Amazon’s urgency to stay competitive in the AI landscape, where tech giants are pouring billions into innovation. Anthropic’s reliance on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud infrastructure strengthens Amazon’s position in the cloud computing market while integrating advanced AI capabilities into its ecosystem.
🤝Gen AI has become indispensable for Big Tech
Generative AI is emerging as a pivotal technology for Big Tech, with the potential to automate tasks, enhance consumer products, and revolutionize workflows. Meta has introduced AI tools on Instagram and Facebook, boosting engagement by 8% and 6%, respectively, while Apple has rolled out its Apple Intelligence suite, integrating AI into iPhones.
Anthropic’s Claude and similar tools from OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Google (Gemini) are reshaping how users interact with technology, from smarter voice assistants to personalized consumer experiences. For Amazon, these advancements feed directly into its AI-driven upgrades for Alexa, Kindle, and other devices, ensuring it keeps pace with rivals like Google’s Nest and Apple’s Siri.
The stakes are high. In October, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion, valuing the company at $157 billion, while Elon Musk’s xAI is reportedly worth $40 billion. Anthropic’s partnership with Amazon ensures it has the resources to compete with these heavyweights while providing Amazon with a critical edge in AI-driven products and services.
With the competition heating up, this investment underscores Amazon’s commitment to securing its place in the AI-driven future.🤖
⛅The Great X-odus to Bluesky
Bluesky, the decentralized social media brainchild of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, is rapidly evolving into a major player in the post-Twitter world. With 20 million users and growing as the number one free app on Apple’s App Store, the platform is benefiting from a mass migration of disaffected users fleeing the chaos of X (formerly Twitter), particularly after Donald Trump’s election victory. Bluesky’s appeal lies in its stripped-down simplicity, user-driven customization, and a refreshing lack of algorithmic meddling—a direct contrast to X’s polarizing transformation under Elon Musk.
Exodus from X Spurs Bluesky’s Growth
The post-election landscape has accelerated user flight from X, which saw its largest spike in account deactivations since Musk’s acquisition. Disillusioned by X’s shift toward becoming a right-wing echo chamber, many liberals and moderates have migrated to Bluesky. Bluesky, with its decentralized structure and user-driven moderation tools, allows users to fully customize their feeds.
🥊Stiff Competition from X and Threads
Despite its growth, Bluesky faces stiff competition. Meta’s Threads recently introduced custom feeds and improved user experience, aiming to leverage its 275 million monthly users. Meanwhile, X remains relevant, particularly with its entrenched user base and Musk’s growing political influence.
Additionally, Bluesky’s technical hiccups, like a recent outage due to a fiber cable cut, highlight the challenges of scaling a platform with a lean 20-person team.
🔮A Fragmented Future
As the era of a singular, all-encompassing platform fades, Bluesky offers a glimpse into a new kind of social media—one focused on decentralization, user autonomy, and niche communities. Of course, there are also critics who argue that Bluesky creates liberal echo chambers, isolates users from constructive discourse, and will eventually encounter the same problems at X.
Whether Bluesky can sustain its momentum remains to be seen, but for now, it’s emerging as a vibrant space for conversation and connection. The question remains— Is it truly possible to create a social media platform where freedom, collaboration, and meaningful conversation can take center stage?💡
🍜What We’re Consuming in Venture
The Diff, a newsletter exploring the technologies, companies, and trends that are making the future high-variance.
The Iced Coffee Hour by Graham Stephan, an entrepreneurship/business podcast
The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma, a book on time management and productivity
The memes that spawned after Zomato posted an absurd job advertisement
💻 We’re Updating Our Website
We love our website, and want to make sure it is accurate and up-to-date. Please let us know through this form if you are a part of the VWV team (Investment Committee, Advisors, Alumni) and have changes you wish to make to your personal profile. We appreciate all of you! 😊
That’s it for this week, feel free to email me at zyn_yee_ang@brown.edu with any inquiries! Take care of yourselves 💖
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