As an example, take Uber. The Economist recently asked whether it can ever make money. [1] And events in the months since don't make it any clearer. [2]
I think tech's wave of quasi-monopolies (Google, Facebook, Amazon) gave investors the notion that similarly dominant players could be established in non-tech fields if they were dressed up as technology plays. So we see absurd amounts of cash being poured into things like Uber and WeWork. Unlike the previous players, we also see them going to IPO while they're still losing money.
And sadly, I think you're right about regulatory laxness. Antitrust regulation has been out of fashion for a long time. And if we see it come back, it could well be more an authoritarian political tool than any actual attempt to ensure competitive markets.
[1] https://www.economist.com/business/2019/04/27/can-uber-ever-...
[2] https://www.economist.com/business/2019/04/27/can-uber-ever-...