Kanter's new startup wants to put antitrust AI in plaintiffs' hands

The former DOJ antitrust chief has a new firm, FluxCap, built to help smaller legal teams take on corporate giants.

Jonathan Kanter spent years running the Justice Department's antitrust division, where he led cases against some of the biggest companies in tech. He left the job in 2024, but not the mission. His next arena is the private sector, and his new tool is artificial intelligence.

Kanter has launched FluxCap with Doha Mekki, a former acting head of the same division. The startup's team mixes former DOJ staffers with engineers from Palantir, according to The Verge. Its product is an AI research and analysis tool for plaintiffs — the lawyers and smaller companies that take on well-funded opponents. The software is meant to help them build stronger cases and work through complex legal material faster.

The pitch is leverage. Antitrust litigation is expensive, document-heavy, and usually fought against opponents with far deeper pockets. A tool that speeds up research could help smaller teams compete. For Kanter, it is also a way to keep chasing the same targets from outside government — with a business model attached.