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FTC Signals Closer Look at Big Tech Acqui-Hires as Antitrust Concerns Grow

By  |  January 18, 2026

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is preparing to take a closer look at a hiring strategy increasingly used by major technology companies, as regulators grow concerned that the practice may be designed to sidestep traditional antitrust oversight.

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    FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the agency’s review will focus on so-called “acqui-hires,” in which large firms bring on employees from startups without formally acquiring the companies themselves. According to a statement made during a recent interview, the goal is to determine whether these arrangements are being used to avoid merger reviews that would otherwise be required under antitrust law.

    Ferguson suggested that the strategy has gained traction as a response to tougher enforcement policies in Washington. Per a statement reflecting his comments, he indicated that the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust posture has encouraged companies to look for alternative ways to secure talent and technology without triggering regulatory scrutiny.

    “We are beginning to examine these acqui-hires to make sure they are not an attempt to get around” the agency’s merger review process, Ferguson said on Bloomberg Television on Friday.

    The FTC’s interest comes as partnerships between major U.S. technology firms and artificial intelligence startups have accelerated. According to a statement summarizing recent activity in the sector, large companies are increasingly opting for licensing agreements and selective hiring rather than outright acquisitions, particularly in the competitive AI space.

    Several high-profile examples illustrate the trend. In December, Nvidia entered a non-exclusive chip technology licensing deal with AI chip startup Groq that also brought Groq founder Jonathan Ross into Nvidia as its chief software architect. In another case, Google secured a license to technology from AI coding startup Windsurf in 2025 and hired its chief executive along with some staff, without taking an ownership stake in the company. Meta Platforms also pursued a partial investment strategy last year, taking a 49% stake in Scale AI while appointing its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to a senior role within Meta’s superintelligence lab.

    Market performance at the end of the week showed little reaction to the regulatory developments. U.S. equities finished Friday’s session lower, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF closing down 0.08% and the Nasdaq-100 ending the day 0.07% lower. According to a statement reflecting retail investor sentiment, discussion around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits remained in neutral territory.

    Other major exchange-traded funds also slipped, with the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF down 0.12% and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust falling 0.18%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF was a notable exception, ending the session 1.56% higher.

    As the FTC moves forward with its review, the outcome could shape how technology companies pursue talent and innovation partnerships, particularly in fast-moving fields like artificial intelligence, while testing the limits of existing antitrust frameworks.

    Source: Menafn