> How will that work - for example Y Combinator classes. They cannot be acquired?

For the record: national economic policy shouldn't revolve around Y Combinator classes and similar startups.

I'm totally fine if it turns out a sensible antitrust policy completely destroys the acquisition exit pathway for tech startups. I'm not saying one will, but I'm saying that's a cost I'm willing to pay.

If the acquirer has too big or dominant position already in the specific sector no. They should not be able to sweep the board of all companies doing single thing.

If the acquirer attempts to acquire a startup (regardless of investor) for anti trust reasons, or there are anti trust concerns, the M&A activity is disallowed by regulators. A recent example is Figma and Adobe.

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

I think 5-15 person employee businesses do not concern trust busters.