Mark Lemley discusses Silicon Valley’s obsession with startups getting an “exit”

Mark Lemley discusses Silicon Valley's obsession with startups getting an "exit"

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Stanford Law School professor Mark Lemley talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about Silicon Valley’s obsession with startups getting an “exit” — usually an acquisition by one of the tech giants — and why that trend is suffocating innovation. Lemley explains the decline of IPOs and antitrust scrutiny in America, why today’s tech monopolies are especially hard to break, and how he thinks we should fix this broken system. He also discusses emerging legal issues in tech, including space, robotics and autonomous cars. Plus: What happens to companies that spurn acquisitions and remain independent, and is it possible for an acquired company to stay innovative inside a megacorp like Google or Facebook?