Google a 'monopolist', says Y Combinator in court brief

Startup accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator has accused Google of harming the US startup ecosystem by making it harder for new companies to compete. In a filing in an ongoing antitrust case (United States v. Google LLC), YC called Google a “monopolist” that has “stunted” innovation by shutting out potential challengers.

“Google has chilled independent firms like YC from funding and accelerating innovative startups that could otherwise have challenged Google’s dominance,” the brief stated. “The result is a landscape that has been artificially stunted and stagnant.”

YC argued that Google’s dominance in search and online advertising has created a “kill zone” that discourages investment in web search and AI startups. It pointed to the company’s multibillion-dollar payments to be the default search engine on devices like the iPhone as anti-competitive.


“Google has effectively frozen the web-search and text-advertising markets for over a decade,” YC said.

The firm said it is now focused on supporting startups building question-based and agentic AI tools that could change how people access information online. But it warned that there is a “clear risk” that Google will use its powerful market position to block the growth of such companies.

Instead of pushing for a breakup, YC proposed remedies such as curbing Google’s exclusive deals and opening its search index to help train large-language models, steps it believes would give startups a fairer shot at competing.

Google monopoly case

Google is facing a major antitrust showdown as US regulators push for sweeping penalties after a federal judge ruled the company illegally maintained a monopoly in online search.

The case, brought by the Department of Justice in 2020, argues that Google used multibillion-dollar deals with Apple and other tech firms to shut out rivals and entrench its dominance. A ruling last year found the company had violated antitrust laws.

Current hearings, known as “remedy proceedings,” will determine potential penalties. The Justice Department is seeking measures that could force Google to share search data with competitors, ban exclusive distribution deals, and possibly spin off parts of its business, including the Chrome browser.

Google argues the proposals are excessive and unrelated to the court’s findings, warning they could harm consumers and undermine privacy and security.