Former Justice Department Officials Launch AI Startup Against Big Tech

Jonathan Kanter, former head of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, has founded a new tech startup called FluxCap alongside Doha Mekki following his departure from office. The company provides an AI-powered legal research and analysis tool for plaintiffs fighting against big tech monopolists.

After leaving his position at the DOJ Antitrust Division in 2024, Jonathan Kanter took his fight against illegal monopolies to the private sector. Co-founded with former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki, FluxCap operates with a team consisting of former ministry employees and Palantir engineers. The startup offers an AI-driven platform that helps attorneys—who are fighting multi-billion-dollar companies—scan discovery documents and identify facts and legal frameworks.

FluxCap's platform is built on existing large language models and proprietary technologies, and has been trained to find potential gaps in lawyers' reasoning. Kanter noted that the team of former government attorneys spent months testing the system so it could understand nuances. Counting the antitrust boutique law firm Kressin Powers among its first customers, the startup aims to provide a small team with the operational capacity of a massive legal department.

Kanter argues that while technology alone cannot completely level the playing field, this tool will serve as a crucial balancing element to offset the government's budget and staffing shortages. Recalling that the U.S. Department of Justice received $245 million in appropriations from Congress for the 2026 fiscal year and employs over 400 attorneys across various issues, Kanter stated that such AI solutions are essential against the massive legal teams of companies boasting trillion-dollar market valuations.