Y Combinator

Reviewed Updated May 8, 2026

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Location San Francisco, CA
Founded 2005
Fund Size $500K per company (standard deal); previously $700M Continuity Fund (wound down 2023)
Website https://www.ycombinator.com
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed
Sector Focus
ai-ml b2b-saas fintech developer-tools consumer-internet healthcare biotech marketplaces crypto

Team

Garry Tan President & CEO
Jared Friedman Managing Partner
Harj Taggar Managing Partner
Michael Seibel Partner Emeritus
Gustaf Alströmer General Partner
Tom Blomfield General Partner
Tyler Bosmeny General Partner
Nicolas Dessaigne General Partner
Aaron Epstein General Partner
Brad Flora General Partner
Diana Hu General Partner
Pete Koomen General Partner
David Lieb General Partner
Andrew Miklas General Partner
Jon Xu General Partner
Ankit Gupta General Partner
Paul Graham Co-Founder
Dalton Caldwell Partner Emeritus (former Managing Director & Group Partner)
Jessica Livingston Co-Founder
Geoff Ralston Former President & Partner

About

Y Combinator (YC) is a startup accelerator founded on March 11, 2005, by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Tappan Morris, and Trevor Blackwell 12. The idea originated when Graham and Livingston conceived the concept while walking home from dinner in Harvard Square; Graham contributed $100,000, while Morris and Blackwell each invested $50,000, launching the experiment with $200,000 in initial capital 1.

The first batch (Summer 2005) funded 8 teams out of 25 applicants, including the teams behind Reddit and Loopt 12. YC initially ran concurrent programs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Mountain View, California, but consolidated to Silicon Valley in January 2009 3. The accelerator operated from Mountain View for 17 years before relocating its headquarters to San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood in spring 2023 4.

YC’s leadership has changed several times. Paul Graham led the organization until 2014, when Sam Altman became president 2. Altman was succeeded by Geoff Ralston in 2019, who was in turn replaced by Garry Tan as president and CEO in January 2023 56. In March 2024, Michael Seibel stepped down as managing director and was succeeded by Jared Friedman 6.

In October 2015, YC launched the Continuity Fund, a $700 million growth-stage vehicle that made follow-on investments in YC alumni companies with check sizes of $20 million to $100 million 78. The Continuity Fund was led by Ali Rowghani and later Anu Hariharan 8. In March 2023, under Garry Tan’s leadership, YC wound down the Continuity Fund and laid off approximately 20% of staff, refocusing on its core accelerator program 7. Tan also initiated a consolidated fundraising effort with a stated goal of raising $2 billion across new funds 6.

As of 2026, Y Combinator has funded 5,668 startups across its history, with a combined portfolio valuation exceeding $600 billion 910. The accelerator has produced 82 unicorns (companies valued at $1 billion or more), 17 companies that have gone public, and maintains a roughly 69% active company rate 910. YC now runs four batches per year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), each containing approximately 150-250 companies 911.

Stated Thesis

Y Combinator’s motto is “Make something people want” 12. The accelerator publicly positions itself as backing founders at the earliest stage, providing seed funding, mentorship, and access to a network of alumni and investors.

Paul Graham articulated YC’s founding philosophy: “investors should be making more, smaller investments, they should be funding hackers instead of suits, they should be willing to fund younger founders” 1. Graham has described what YC looks for in founders across five traits: determination (“what matters most is determination”), flexibility, imagination, “naughtiness” (a willingness to break conventions), and friendship between co-founders 13.

Garry Tan has stated that YC looks for “first principles thinkers — founders who not only believe what no one believes yet, but figure out what’s necessary to build, whether software or distribution, to create something no one else sees” 14. Tan champions what he calls “ambitious misfits” and values earnestness over polish in founders 1415.

YC states it invests in companies “twice a year” (now four times per year) across all sectors and geographies, with no restrictions on industry or business model 12. The accelerator emphasizes that it does not charge any fees to participating companies and that its investment is not contingent on hitting milestones 16.

Inferred Thesis

The following analysis is based on YC’s publicly available portfolio data. With 5,668 total companies funded 9, constructing a complete portfolio analysis is impractical, but aggregate data from YC’s own directory and third-party analyses provides strong signal.

Sector Allocation

Based on analysis of 5,668 companies in YC’s directory 9:

  • B2B / Enterprise SaaS: 4,788 companies (84.5%) — YC has shifted overwhelmingly toward B2B over time. Recent batches are over 75% B2B companies 10.
  • Consumer: 862 companies (15.2%) — Consumer companies were more prevalent in early batches (2005-2012) but have declined significantly as a share of each batch.
  • Top specialized sectors by count: Healthcare (653 companies, 11.5%), Fintech (606 companies, 10.7%), Industrials (347 companies, 6.1%), Education (241 companies, 4.3%) 9.
  • AI/ML concentration: In the Summer 2025 batch, 141 of 169 startups (83%) were classified as AI-native companies 11. Overall, AI companies represent approximately 60% of recent 2025-2026 batches, up from 15% just two years prior 1117.

Stage Distribution

YC invests exclusively at the pre-seed/seed stage through its accelerator program. Every company receives the identical standard deal regardless of stage, traction, or sector 16. The now-defunct Continuity Fund (2015-2023) made growth-stage investments at Series B and later 78.

Geographic Concentration

  • US-based companies: 68.9% of total portfolio 9.
  • San Francisco concentration: Rose from 20.9% of companies in 2021 to 73.0% in 2026, reflecting the return to in-person batches and the SF headquarters move 94.
  • International presence: YC accepts companies from anywhere and provides assistance with US incorporation. Companies must incorporate in the US, Canada, Cayman Islands, or Singapore 16.

Check Size and Terms

YC’s standard deal is $500,000 per company, split across two SAFEs 16: - $125,000 on a post-money SAFE for 7% equity - $375,000 on an uncapped SAFE with a Most Favored Nation (MFN) provision

YC also receives pro rata rights for subsequent funding rounds 16. This deal has been consistent since approximately 2022 18.

Batch Size and Volume

YC invests at extraordinarily high volume compared to traditional venture firms: - Smallest batch: 8-11 companies (Summer 2005) 19 - Largest single batch: ~399 companies (Winter 2022) 9 - Peak annual output: 727 companies (2021) 9 - Recent annual output: ~600 companies (2024-2025) 911 - Winter 2026 batch: 196 companies 11

Founder Profile Patterns

  • Solo founders have declined from historical norms to approximately 10% of recent batches 10.
  • Median founding team size has trended toward 2-3 co-founders 9.
  • YC has historically favored technical founders, consistent with Graham’s stated preference for “hackers instead of suits” 1.
  • Recent batches show increasing numbers of repeat YC founders and founders from top CS programs 11.

Success Rates

  • Approximately 4.5% of YC companies become unicorns, versus 2.5% for other venture-backed seed-stage startups 10.
  • Around 45% of YC companies secure Series A funding, versus 33% average for seed-stage startups 10.
  • Over 50% of YC companies remain active after 10 years, versus 30% average 10.
  • The top 4 public companies (Airbnb, DoorDash, Coinbase, Instacart) account for 84% of YC’s total public market value 10.

Notable Gaps Between Stated and Actual Thesis

  • Sector-agnostic claim vs. AI dominance: YC claims to invest across all sectors, but recent batches are 60-83% AI companies 1117. While this may reflect applicant pool composition, it represents a significant de facto concentration.
  • Geographic openness vs. US concentration: Despite accepting international companies, 69% of the portfolio is US-based, and SF concentration has increased dramatically under Tan’s leadership 94.
  • Consumer decline: YC’s early identity was built on consumer hits (Reddit, Airbnb, Dropbox), but the portfolio has shifted overwhelmingly to B2B (84.5%), with consumer companies now representing just 15% of the portfolio 9.
  • Power law concentration: The vast majority of YC’s financial returns come from a tiny fraction of companies. The top 4 public companies represent 84% of public market value 10, suggesting that YC’s model depends on extraordinary outliers rather than consistent portfolio performance.

Portfolio

The following table includes 120 notable Y Combinator companies, organized by batch year. YC has funded 5,668 companies total 9; this table represents approximately 2.1% of the full portfolio, focused on the most notable investments including all known unicorns and major exits.

Company Batch Year Sector Status
Reddit S05 2005 Social Media Public (IPO 2024) 219
Loopt S05 2005 Location Services Acquired by Green Dot (2012) 1
Kiko S05 2005 Calendar Shut down 1
Justin.tv / Twitch W07 2007 Live Streaming Acquired by Amazon ($970M, 2014) 219
Dropbox S07 2007 Cloud Storage Public (IPO 2018) 219
Scribd S06 2006 Document Sharing Private 20
Heroku W08 2008 PaaS / Developer Tools Acquired by Salesforce (2010) 19
Airbnb W09 2009 Travel / Marketplace Public (IPO 2020) 219
Stripe S09 2009 Payments / Fintech Private ($95B valuation) 219
Weebly W07 2007 Website Builder Acquired by Square (2018) 19
Machine Zone W08 2008 Mobile Gaming Private 19
Optimizely W10 2010 A/B Testing Acquired by Episerver (2020) 20
Bump S09 2009 Mobile Sharing Acquired by Google (2013) 20
PagerDuty S10 2010 Incident Management Public (IPO 2019) 19
Codecademy S11 2011 EdTech Acquired by Skillsoft (2022) 19
Segment S11 2011 Customer Data Platform Acquired by Twilio ($3.2B, 2020) 19
Zapier S12 2012 Workflow Automation Private ($5B est.) 19
Coinbase S12 2012 Crypto Exchange Public (IPO 2021) 219
Instacart S12 2012 Grocery Delivery Public (IPO 2023) 219
Gusto W12 2012 Payroll / HR Private ($10B) 1921
Benchling W12 2012 Life Sciences SaaS Private ($6B) 1921
Carta W12 2012 Cap Table Management Private ($7.4B) 1921
DoorDash S13 2013 Food Delivery Public (IPO 2020) 219
Cruise W14 2014 Autonomous Vehicles Acquired by GM / Shut down ($30B peak) 21
Docker S10 2010 Container Platform Private 19
HelloSign W11 2011 E-Signatures Acquired by Dropbox ($230M, 2019) 19
Circle S13 2013 Crypto Finance Private ($9B) 21
Watsi W13 2013 Healthcare Nonprofit Active 22
Embark Trucks W16 2016 Autonomous Trucking Public (IPO 2021, later shut down) 19
GitLab W15 2015 DevOps Public (IPO 2021) 19
Razorpay W15 2015 Payments (India) Private ($7.5B) 21
Color Genomics W15 2015 Genetic Testing Private ($4.6B) 21
Samsara W15 2015 IoT / Fleet Management Public (IPO 2021) 19
Amplitude W12 2012 Product Analytics Public (IPO 2021) 19
Ginkgo Bioworks S14 2014 Synthetic Biology Public (IPO 2021) 19
Flexport S14 2014 Digital Freight Forwarding Private ($8B) 1921
Scale AI W16 2016 Data Labeling / AI Private ($7.3B) 21
Lattice W16 2016 HR / People Management Private ($3B) 21
Fivetran S16 2016 Data Pipelines Private ($5.6B) 21
Outschool W16 2016 EdTech Private ($3B) 21
Meesho W16 2016 Social Commerce (India) Private ($3.5B) 21
Rappi W16 2016 Delivery (Latin America) Private ($5.25B) 21
Kavak W16 2016 Used Cars (Latin America) Private ($8.7B) 21
Flutterwave S16 2016 Payments (Africa) Private ($3B) 21
Niantic S10 2010 AR / Gaming Private ($9B) 21
Brex W17 2017 Corporate Cards / Fintech Private ($12.3B) 21
Rippling W17 2017 HR / IT Management Private ($17B) 21
Faire W17 2017 Wholesale Marketplace Private ($12B) 21
Retool W17 2017 Low-Code Dev Tools Private ($3.2B) 21
Ro W17 2017 Telehealth Private ($5B) 21
Flock Safety W17 2017 Public Safety / Security Private ($8B) 21
Whatnot W19 2019 Live Commerce Private ($12B) 21
Deel W19 2019 Global Payroll / HR Private ($17B) 21
OpenSea W18 2018 NFT Marketplace Private ($13.3B peak) 21
Vanta W18 2018 Security Compliance Private ($4.2B) 21
Weights & Biases W18 2018 MLOps Private ($1B+) 21
Spring Health W18 2018 Mental Health Private ($2.5B) 21
Maven Clinic W14 2014 Women’s Health Private ($1.35B) 21
Algolia W14 2014 Search-as-a-Service Private ($2.25B) 21
Clever S12 2012 EdTech Acquired by Kahoot ($500M, 2023) 19
Monzo S16 2016 Neobank (UK) Private ($5B+) 19
Pebble W11 2011 Smartwatch Shut down (2016) 22
Science Exchange S11 2011 Research Marketplace Active 22
inDinero S10 2010 Accounting SaaS Active 22
Convoy W15 2015 Digital Freight Shut down (2023) 19
Zenefits W13 2013 HR SaaS Acquired by TriNet (2022) 19
Matterport W12 2012 3D Spatial Data Public (IPO 2021) 19
Momentus S18 2018 Space Infrastructure Public (IPO 2021) 19
Podium W16 2016 Customer Messaging Private ($3B) 19
Groww W18 2018 Investment Platform (India) Private ($7B) 21
Zepto W21 2021 Quick Commerce (India) Private ($7B) 21
Jasper W21 2021 AI Copywriting Private ($1.5B) 21
OpenAI YC Research 2015 AI Research Private ($100B+) 229
Snorkel AI W20 2020 AI / Data Training Private ($1B+) 21
PlanGrid W12 2012 Construction SaaS Acquired by Autodesk ($875M, 2018) 22
Ironclad S15 2015 Legal Tech Private ($3.2B) 19
Mercury S19 2019 Banking for Startups Private ($3.2B) 19
Replit W18 2018 IDE / Developer Tools Private ($1.16B) 19
Applied Intuition S17 2017 Autonomous Vehicle Simulation Private ($6B) 19
GoCardless S11 2011 Payments (UK) Private ($2.1B) 19
Webflow W13 2013 Website Builder Private ($4B) 19
LendUp W12 2012 Fintech / Lending Shut down 19
Mixpanel S09 2009 Product Analytics Private 19
WePay S09 2009 Payments Acquired by JPMorgan (2017) 19
Parse S11 2011 Mobile Backend Acquired by Facebook (2013) 19
Lob S13 2013 Direct Mail API Private 19
Standard Cognition S17 2017 AI / Retail Private 19
Render W19 2019 Cloud Platform Private 19
Supabase S20 2020 Backend-as-a-Service Private ($10.5B, Series F 2026-06-04) 1940
Cal.com W21 2021 Scheduling Private 19
PostHog W20 2020 Product Analytics Private 19
Vercel W16 2016 Frontend Platform Private ($3.5B) 19
Mux S16 2016 Video Infrastructure Private 19
Lambda S17 2017 AI / GPU Cloud Private ($1.5B) 19
Checkr S14 2014 Background Checks Private ($5B) 19
MessageBird S16 2016 Communications API Private ($3.8B) 19
Sendbird W16 2016 Chat API Private ($1B+) 19
ClearCo W15 2015 Revenue-Based Finance Private 19
Mattermost S15 2015 Team Messaging Private 19
Newfront S17 2017 Insurtech Private 19
Pilot W17 2017 Accounting Private 19
Memebox W14 2014 Beauty E-commerce Private 19
Zipline S14 2014 Drone Delivery Private ($4.2B) 19
80,000 Hours S15 2015 Career Guidance Nonprofit 19
Airtable W12 2012 Database / No-Code Private ($11B) 19
Plaid W13 2013 Fintech Infrastructure Private ($13.4B) 19
Legora W24 2024 AI / Legal Tech Private ($5.55B) 2830
Avoca W23 2023 AI / Vertical SaaS / Services Economy Private ($1B) 3233
Corgi S24 2024 Insurtech / AI Private ($1.3B) 3435
Fazeshift S24 2024 AI / Finance Ops / Vertical SaaS Private (Series A) 3637
Greenboard W24 2024 Regtech / Compliance AI Private (Series A 2026-05-12) 38
Lucis S25 2025 Healthtech / Preventive Health AI Private (Series A $20M 2026-05-26) 39
Didit S22 2022 Fintech / Identity Verification Private (Seed extension $6M 2026-05-26) 39
Collate Seed ($30M; Redpoint led at >$100M post-money; First Round, Conviction Partners, YC participated) 2025-01-13 Healthtech / Life Sciences AI Private (Series B $95M at ~$1B post-money, 2026-06-03, Redpoint led — YC did NOT follow on) 41426465
Stepful W21 2021 Healthtech / Workforce Training Private (Series C $55M 2026-06-08, Oak HC/FT-led; YC follow-on) 434445
Drafted Spring 2026 2025-2026 AI / Proptech / Generative Design Private ($16M Seed 2026-05-29, Buckley Ventures-led; YC participated) 464748
SyntheticFi S23 2023 Fintech / RIA Tech Private ($13M Venture round 2026-06-09; YC participated alongside Social Leverage, NextGen VP/Brown Advisory, The Compound Capital Fund) 495051
Ploy n/a 2026 AI / Marketing / Vertical SaaS Private ($27M Seed 2026-06-17, First Round Capital-led; YC participated) 525354
Sazabi S26 2026 AI / Developer Tools / Observability Private ($8M Seed 2026-06-25, co-led with J2 Ventures and Village Global) 555657
Pocket W26 2024 AI / Consumer Hardware Private ($11M Seed 2026-06-29, Accel-led; YC participated alongside Guillermo Rauch (Vercel), Mati Staniszewski (ElevenLabs), Kaz Nejatian (Opendoor)) 585960
Warp n/a 2026 HR Tech / Payroll / AI / Fintech Private (Series B $60M 2026-06-25, Battery Ventures-led; YC participated alongside Peak XV, Sound Ventures, HOF Capital) 616263
Fleek W22 2022 B2B Marketplace / Secondhand Fashion / AI Supply Chain Private (Series B $25M 2026-07-08, Burda Principal Investments-led; YC existing participant alongside Andreessen Horowitz and HV Capital; eBay, FJ Labs, H14 joined as new; USD 45M total raised; London-based) 66676869
Ollama W21 2021 AI / Developer Tools / Open-Source Private (Series B $65M 2026-07-09, Theory Ventures-led; YC listed among prior/existing backers alongside Benchmark, 8VC, Garage Capital, Pace Capital, 49 Palms, GTMFund; $88M total raised) 707172
Singularity n/a 2026 Defense / Aerospace / Deep Tech Private (Series A $80M at $400M post-money 2026-07-14, Khosla Ventures + Felicis co-led; YC participated alongside AE Ventures, NEA, Long Journey, Harpoon, Menlo Ventures, Decisive Point, New Vista, Sunflower, Soma) 737475

Note: This table represents approximately 2.1% of YC’s 5,668 total investments 9, focused on the most notable companies including unicorns, public companies, and significant acquisitions. YC’s standard deal gives it 7% equity in every company at the same terms, making a complete portfolio listing impractical. Batch years use the YC batch designation (e.g., W09 = Winter 2009, S12 = Summer 2012). OpenAI is listed as “YC Research” rather than a batch designation — it was the first project of YC Research (launched December 2015), a separate initiative from the standard accelerator 29. Duolingo was removed from this table because Duolingo did not go through Y Combinator; its earliest funding came from Luis von Ahn’s MacArthur fellowship and an NSF grant, followed by a Series A led by Union Square Ventures in October 2011 31.

In Their Own Words

Paul Graham on founding YC:

“Investors should be making more, smaller investments, they should be funding hackers instead of suits, they should be willing to fund younger founders.” 1

Paul Graham on what YC looks for in founders:

“What matters most is determination. You’re going to hit a lot of obstacles. You can’t be the sort of person who gets demoralized easily.” 13

“Most good ideas seem bad initially. If they were obviously good, someone would already be doing them.” 13

“Startups do to the relationship between the founders what a dog does to a sock: if it can be pulled apart, it will be.” 13

Garry Tan on what YC looks for:

YC partners look for “first principles thinkers — founders who not only believe what no one believes yet, but figure out what’s necessary to build, whether software or distribution, to create something no one else sees.” 14

Garry Tan on AI’s impact:

“AI transformed software from a ‘nice to have’ into an urgent necessity.” 15

Sam Altman on execution speed:

“The best founders execute so quickly.” 23

Michael Seibel on YC’s level playing field:

“What I love about Y Combinator is that it is a level playing field. If you get in, you immediately become a Silicon Valley insider.” 24

What Founders Say

Patrick Collison, Co-Founder of Stripe (S09):

“I doubt that Stripe would have worked without YC. It’s that simple. Acquiring early customers, figuring out who to hire, closing deals with banks, raising money — YC’s partners were closely involved and crucially helpful.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Brian Chesky, Co-Founder of Airbnb (W09):

“At YC, we were challenged to do things that don’t scale — to start with the perfect experience for one person, then work backwards and scale it to 100 people who love us.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Eric Migicovsky, Founder of Pebble (W11):

“I arrived in Silicon Valley in 2011 and was instantly enveloped in the YC network. From connections to founders, mentors, investors and employees to invaluable advice from the partners, applying to YC was the single most critical decision we ever made at Pebble.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Chase Adam, Founder of Watsi (W13):

“I can’t imagine any startup that wouldn’t benefit tremendously from Y Combinator’s support. To this day, joining Y Combinator was the best decision we’ve made at Watsi.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Jessica Mah, CEO of inDinero (S10):

“YC was the experience of a lifetime. I came in with a prototype and left with a real business. The PR contacts, investor relationships, and entrepreneur camaraderie helped me level up my CEO skills faster than I could have even imagined.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Tracy Young, Co-Founder of PlanGrid (W12):

“YC motivated PlanGrid to focus on the single thing that mattered — building something people love and finding product market fit.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Elizabeth Iorns, Founder of Science Exchange (S11):

“Y Combinator was a gamechanger for us. We entered the program with an idea and, 3 months later, left as a launched company with seed funding from the best investors in Silicon Valley.” (Source: YC Quotes page) 22

Dave Rogenmoser, Founder of Proof (YC):

“Absolutely yes. I would do it over again.” (on whether giving up 7% equity and relocating was worth the Y Combinator experience) (Source: Proof blog, 2019) 25

Sachin Rekhi, Founder of Anywhere.FM (S07):

“Y Combinator is an amazing program for a young first time entrepreneur who is serious about jump starting the entrepreneurial experience.” He noted that “the culminating Investor Day is by far one of the most valuable aspects of the YC program” and that “one of the most remarkable phenomenons is the bond that is created between fellow entrepreneurs who have gone through a shared experience.” (Source: sachinrekhi.com) 26

Anonymous W22 founder (critical perspective):

A founder from the Winter 2022 batch reported that “the program has turned into a conveyor, pushing everyone through the same pipeline with one partner for 20 companies on average,” noting limited personalized support and that office hours sometimes yielded only generic advice. (Source: Substack review, 2022) 27

Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder of Andreessen Horowitz (investor perspective):

“Several of our best investments have come from Y Combinator. Y Combinator is the best program for creating top-end entrepreneurs that has ever existed.” 24

Note: The Collison, Chesky, Migicovsky, Adam, Mah, Young, and Iorns quotes are sourced from YC’s own quotes page, which is a curated and biased source — these represent the accelerator’s selected testimonials. The Rogenmoser and Rekhi quotes are independently sourced from their own blogs. The anonymous W22 criticism is from an independent Substack post. The Andreessen quote is from an investor, not a founder, but is included for context.

Sources

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  2. “Y Combinator,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. “Y Combinator Co-Founder Says ‘In the Beginning, No One Cared About Our Startup,’” Startup Grind. https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/y-combinator-co-founder-says-in-the-beginning-no-one-cared-about-our-startup/. Accessed March 2026. ↩

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  10. “Pulling back the curtain on the magic of Y Combinator,” Lenny’s Newsletter. https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/pulling-back-the-curtain-on-the-magic. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  11. “Y Combinator S25 Batch Analysis: 160 AI Startups & Founder Insights,” Extruct AI. https://www.extruct.ai/blog/ycs25/. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

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  13. Paul Graham, “What We Look for in Founders,” paulgraham.com. https://paulgraham.com/founders.html. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩

  14. “Garry Tan has revealed his ‘secret sauce’ for getting into Y Combinator,” TechCrunch, May 22, 2024. https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/22/garry-tan-y-combinator-accelerator-insights/↩↩↩

  15. “Garry Tan: Y Combinator Startups Growing 5X Faster — Here’s What Changed,” Mixergy. https://mixergy.com/interviews/garry-tan-y-combinator-startups-growing-5x-faster-heres-what-changed/. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩

  16. “The Y Combinator Standard Deal,” Y Combinator. https://www.ycombinator.com/deal. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩

  17. “Analysis of YC’s Latest S24 Batch,” Jamesin Seidel, Substack. https://jamesin.substack.com/p/analysis-of-ycs-latest-s24-batch. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩

  18. “Has Y Combinator’s new deal changed the early-stage investing game?” TechCrunch, January 13, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/13/has-y-combinators-new-deal-changed-the-early-stage-investing-game/↩

  19. “200 Notable Companies Y Combinator Has Invested In,” Truelancer Blog. https://blog.truelancer.com/companies-y-combinator-has-invested-in/. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  20. “People,” Y Combinator. https://www.ycombinator.com/people. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩

  21. “The Full List of 82 Unicorn Startups Backed by Y Combinator,” Failory. https://www.failory.com/startups/y-combinator-unicorns. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  22. “Quotes,” Y Combinator. https://www.ycombinator.com/quotes/. Accessed March 2026. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  23. “Y Combinator President Reveals the One Trait that Successful Founders Share,” Startup Grind. https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/y-combinator-president-reveals-the-one-trait-that-successful-founders-share/. Accessed March 2026. ↩

  24. “What is Y Combinator now? Critics say the famed accelerator is having an identity crisis,” Fast Company, 2024. https://www.fastcompany.com/91279425/y-combinator-startup-accelerator-identity-crisis↩↩

  25. “Is Y Combinator Worth It? A Founder’s Experience,” Proof Blog. https://blog.useproof.com/is-y-combinator-worth-it/. Accessed March 2026. ↩

  26. “The Value of the Y Combinator Experience,” Sachin Rekhi. https://www.sachinrekhi.com/the-value-of-the-ycombinator-experience. Accessed March 2026. ↩

  27. “Is Y Combinator worth the money (equity)? Brutally honest review of W22 batch experience,” Substack. https://acecreamu.substack.com/p/is-y-combinator-worth-the-money. Accessed March 2026. ↩

  28. TechCrunch, “Legora raises $550M Series D at $5.55B valuation,” March 10, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/10/legora-series-d↩

  29. “OpenAI,” Y Combinator blog, December 11, 2015. https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/openai. Accessed April 2026. (“The first group affiliated with YC Research is OpenAI.”) ↩↩

  30. “Legora: The AI workspace for lawyers,” Y Combinator company directory. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/legora. Accessed April 2026. (Listed as Winter 2024 batch.) ↩

  31. “Duolingo,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duolingo. Accessed April 2026. (Duolingo was financed initially by Luis von Ahn’s MacArthur fellowship and an NSF grant; Series A of $3.3M led by Union Square Ventures closed October 2011; no Y Combinator participation documented.) ↩

  32. Fortune, “How a chance encounter in Texas sparked a $1 billion Kleiner Perkins-backed AI startup,” April 27, 2026. https://fortune.com/2026/04/27/avoca-ai-agents-missed-calls-hvac-plumbing-roofing-kleiner-perkins-chen-shrivastava-braswell/↩

  33. “Avoca: AI-powered Sales Agent for Service-Based Industries,” Y Combinator company directory. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/avoca. Accessed April 2026. (Listed as Winter 2023 batch.) Cross-referenced with Work at a Startup, “Jobs at Avoca (W23),” https://www.workatastartup.com/companies/avoca, accessed April 2026. ↩

  34. PR Newswire, “Corgi Insurance Raises $108 Million, Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch the First Full-Stack Insurance Carrier for Startups,” January 9, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/corgi-insurance-raises-108-million-receives-regulatory-approval-to-launch-the-first-full-stack-insurance-carrier-for-startups-302657727.html — Corgi (S24 batch; founders Nico Laqua, CEO, and Emily Yuan, COO) announced a $108M Series A co-led by Y Combinator and Kindred Ventures at a $630M valuation on January 9, 2026. Participants: Contrary, Oliver Jung, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Seven Stars, Leblon Capital, Fellows Fund, Alumni Ventures, Quadri Ventures, Vocal Ventures, Phosphor Capital, SV Angel, Tekedia Capital. Cross-referenced with Sacra, “Corgi revenue, funding & news,” accessed May 2026. https://sacra.com/c/corgi/ ($108M co-led by YC and Kindred) and Tekedia, “Tekedia Capital Portfolio Startup, Corgi, Raises $108M at $630M Valuation,” accessed May 2026. https://www.tekedia.com/tekedia-capital-portfolio-startup-corgi-raises-108m-at-630m-valuation/ ($630M valuation, January 8, 2026 announcement). ↩

  35. “Corgi Insurance: Corgi is building an AI financial infrastructure company,” Y Combinator company directory. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/corgi-insurance. Accessed May 2026. (Listed as Spring 2024 / S24 batch; founders Nico Laqua and Emily Yuan.) ↩

  36. Crunchbase News, “Exclusive: Fazeshift Scores $17M As Investors Bet On AI-Powered Finance Ops, Starting With Accounts Receivable,” May 7, 2026. https://news.crunchbase.com/fintech/fazeshift-accounts-receivable-ai-finance-ops-startup-funding/ — Fazeshift (S24 batch) announced a $17M Series A on May 7, 2026, led by F-Prime Capital with participation from Gradient Ventures (Google), Y Combinator, Wayfinder Ventures, Pioneer Fund, Ritual Capital, and angel investors. Founded 2023 by Caitlin Leksana (CEO) and Timmy Galvin (CTO); the company launched out of YC’s Summer 2024 cohort. Cross-referenced with BusinessWire, “Fazeshift Raises $22M to Power the Future of Autonomous Finance,” May 7, 2026, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260507212601/en/Fazeshift-Raises-$22M-to-Power-the-Future-of-Autonomous-Finance, and FinSMEs, “Fazeshift Raises $17M in Series A Funding,” May 7, 2026, https://www.finsmes.com/2026/05/fazeshift-raises-17m-in-series-a-funding.html.↩

  37. “Fazeshift,” Y Combinator company directory. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fazeshift. Accessed May 2026. (Listed as Summer 2024 / S24 batch; founders Caitlin Leksana and Timmy Galvin; founded 2023.) ↩

  38. Fortune, “Greenboard raises $15.5 million Series A to keep compliance from slowing down business,” May 12, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://fortune.com/2026/05/12/greenboard-raises-15-5-million-series-a-to-keep-compliance-from-slowing-down-business/ — Greenboard (YC W24 batch; founders Dave Feldman, Ed Schembor) announced a $15.5M Series A on May 12, 2026 led by Base10 Partners with participation from Y Combinator, General Catalyst (via Wayfinder), Commerce Ventures, Transpose Platform, and Liquid2 Ventures, bringing total raised to $20M. ↩

  39. Axios Pro Rata, “May 26, 2026 venture deals: Lucis $20M Series A led by Singular; Didit $6M seed extension from YC and others,” May 26, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-pro-rata — Confirms Y Combinator participated as follow-on investor in Lucis’s $20M Series A on May 26, 2026 (Singular led; General Catalyst and angels also participated; Lucis is a Paris-based preventive-health platform and YC alumnus); also confirms Y Combinator participated in Didit’s $6M seed extension on May 26, 2026 alongside Rebel Fund and other participants. ↩↩

  40. Supabase blog, “Supabase Series F,” June 4, 2026. https://supabase.com/blog/supabase-series-f. Accessed June 2026. Supabase announced a $500M Series F at $10.5B post-money valuation on June 4, 2026, led by GIC with all existing investors (including Y Combinator, Accel, Craft, Felicis, Peak XV, Coatue) participating; Stripe doubled down with a second investment and Salesforce Ventures joined as a new investor. Cross-referenced with PR Newswire, “Supabase Raises $500M at $10.5B to Accelerate Lead in Agentic Infrastructure,” June 4, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/supabase-raises-500m-at-10-5b-to-accelerate-lead-in-agentic-infrastructure-302791787.html (confirms Y Combinator participated) and FinSMEs, “Supabase Raises $500M in Series F Funding, at $10.5 Billion Valuation,” June 4, 2026. https://www.finsmes.com/2026/06/supabase-raises-500m-in-series-f-funding-at-10-5-billion-valuation.html.↩

  41. TheSaaSNews, “Collate Raises $95M,” June 3, 2026. https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/collate-raises-95m-other/. Accessed June 2026. Collate announced a $95M round led by Redpoint Ventures on June 3, 2026, at a ~$1B valuation, with First Round Capital and Conviction Partners also participating. Cross-referenced with Techmeme (citing Amy Feldman/Forbes), “Collate, whose AI tools automate paperwork for life sciences companies, raised $95M led by Redpoint at a ~$1B valuation, bringing its total funding to $125M,” June 3, 2026. https://www.techmeme.com/260603/p48 and Dealroom, “Collate raises $95M Series B at near-$1B valuation to automate life sciences paperwork,” June 3, 2026. https://app.dealroom.co/news/note/collate-raises-95m-series-b-at-near–1b-valuation-to-automate-life-sciences-paperwork. Y Combinator did NOT participate in the Series B; participation here is from the prior $30M Seed. ↩

  42. American Bazaar, “Biotech startup Collate secures $30 million seed fund to automate paperwork,” January 21, 2025. https://americanbazaaronline.com/2025/01/21/biotech-startup-collate-secures-30-million-seed-fund-to-automate-paperwork458548/. Accessed June 2026. Confirms Collate emerged from stealth on January 21, 2025 with a $30M Seed round led by Redpoint Ventures at a $100M+ valuation, with First Round, Conviction Partners, and Y Combinator also participating. Founders Surbhi Sarna (CEO, former YC partner and nVision Medical founder) and Nate Smith (former YC visiting partner and Lever co-founder). Cross-referenced with Surbhi Sarna X post, January 13, 2025. https://x.com/SurbhiSarnaSF/status/1878884972909781119 (announces $30M seed). Note: Collate did not go through a YC batch — YC participated as a follow-on investor in the seed round. ↩

  43. TheNextWeb, “Stepful raises $55M to train healthcare workers with AI,” June 8, 2026. https://thenextweb.com/news/stepful-55m-series-c-ai-healthcare-training. Accessed June 2026. Confirms Stepful’s $55M Series C led by Oak HC/FT with new investors Foresite Capital, Hearst Ventures, and Citi Impact Fund, and existing investors including Y Combinator and Intermountain Health. ↩

  44. citybiz, “Stepful Raises $55 Million Series C to Expand AI-Powered Healthcare Workforce Training Platform,” June 9, 2026. https://www.citybiz.co/article/857175/stepful-raises-55-million-series-c-to-expand-ai-powered-healthcare-workforce-training-platform/. Accessed June 2026. Confirms Y Combinator as existing/returning investor in the $55M Series C; Oak HC/FT led, with Foresite Capital, Hearst Ventures, Citi Impact Fund as new investors and Y Combinator and Intermountain Health as existing investors. ↩

  45. JustAINews, “Stepful Raises $55M to Scale AI Healthcare Training,” June 2026. https://justainews.com/industries/healthcare-and-medical/stepful-raises-55m-to-scale-ai-healthcare-training/. Accessed June 2026. Independently confirms all returning investors: Oak HC/FT, SemperVirens, Y Combinator, Intermountain Health, ECMC Education Impact Fund; new investors: Foresite Capital, Hearst Ventures, Citi Impact Fund. Stepful is W21 YC batch. ↩

  46. The SaaS News, “Drafted Raises $16M Seed,” May 29, 2026. https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/drafted-raises-16m-seed/. Accessed June 13, 2026. Confirms Buckley Ventures-led $16M seed with Y Combinator, Ben Silbermann, Ryan Tedder participating. ↩

  47. AI Business Weekly, “Drafted Raises Funding to Build AI Home Design Platform After 120,000 Users Generated 325,000 Floor Plans in One Month,” June 1, 2026. https://aibusinessweekly.net/p/drafted-ai-home-design-funding-floor-plans. Accessed June 13, 2026. Independently confirms Y Combinator participation in Drafted seed round led by Buckley Ventures. ↩

  48. Y Combinator Companies Directory, “Drafted: Design your home instantly with AI.” https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/drafted. Accessed June 13, 2026. Confirms Drafted is a YC portfolio company. ↩

  49. The SaaS News, “SyntheticFi Raises $13M in Funding,” June 9, 2026. https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/syntheticfi-raises-13m-other/. Accessed June 2026. Confirms $13M Venture round on June 9, 2026 with Y Combinator, Social Leverage, NextGen VP (Brown Advisory subsidiary), and The Compound Capital Fund as participants in syndicate (no specific lead identified). ↩

  50. BusinessWire, “SyntheticFi Raises $13M and Exceeds $2B in Regulatory AUM,” June 9, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609454833/en/SyntheticFi-Raises-$13M-and-Exceeds-$2B-in-Regulatory-AUM. Accessed June 2026. Press release confirming $13M raise and $2B+ regulatory AUM milestone; co-founders Tony Yang and Joseph Wang; San Francisco; Y Combinator S23 batch. ↩

  51. Y Combinator Companies Directory, “SyntheticFi.” https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/syntheticfi. Accessed June 2026. Confirms SyntheticFi as Summer 2023 (S23) YC batch portfolio company; co-founders Tony Yang and Joseph Wang. ↩

  52. Yahoo Finance, “Ploy Raises $27M to Turn Your Company’s Website Into Your Hardest-Working Employee,” June 17, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/ploy-raises-27m-turn-companys-141900716.html — Confirms Y Combinator participated in Ploy’s $27M seed round on June 17, 2026, led by First Round Capital. Founder Bryant Chou (ex-Webflow CTO). ↩

  53. Dealroom, “Ploy launches out of stealth with $27M seed to run your whole marketing system,” June 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://app.dealroom.co/news/note/ploy-launches-out-of-stealth-with-27m-seed-to-run-your-whole-marketing-system — Independently confirms Y Combinator as participating investor in the $27M seed led by First Round Capital. ↩

  54. The SaaS News, “Ploy Raises $27M Seed,” June 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/ploy-raises-27m-seed/ — Independently confirms Y Combinator participated in Ploy’s $27M seed round led by First Round Capital. ↩

  55. Morningstar (via PR Newswire), “Sazabi Raises $8 Million Seed Round to Build the AI-Native Observability Platform for Fast-Moving Engineering Teams,” June 25, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20260625ny91904/sazabi-raises-8-million-seed-round-to-build-the-ai-native-observability-platform-for-fast-moving-engineering-teams — Confirms Y Combinator co-led Sazabi’s $8M seed alongside J2 Ventures and Village Global on June 25, 2026; Sazabi emerged from YC Spring 2026 batch. ↩

  56. Pulse 2.0, “Sazabi Raises $8 Million Seed Round To Build AI-Native Observability Platform,” June 25, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://pulse2.com/sazabi-raises-8-million-seed-round-to-build-ai-native-observability-platform/ — Independently confirms Y Combinator as a co-lead in Sazabi’s $8M seed. ↩

  57. VC News Daily, “Sazabi Raises $8M Seed Round,” June 25, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://vcnewsdaily.com/sazabi/venture-capital-funding/ksqdpwnllg — Third-source confirmation of Y Combinator co-leading Sazabi’s $8M Seed on June 25, 2026 alongside J2 Ventures and Village Global, with Orange Collective and 60+ angels participating. ↩

  58. TechCrunch, “Pocket raises $11M in bet on rising demand for AI note-taking devices,” June 29, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/29/pocket-raises-11m-in-bet-on-rising-demand-for-ai-note-taking-devices/ — Confirms Y Combinator as a participating investor in Pocket’s $11M seed led by Accel, with ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski also participating. ↩

  59. Tech Funding News, “Accel backs Pocket’s $11M raise, as the AI hardware startup turns a viral launch into $27M ARR,” June 29, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://techfundingnews.com/pocket-11m-accel-ai-hardware-27m-arr/ — Independent confirmation of YC participation in Pocket’s $11M seed; full participant list also names Guillermo Rauch (Vercel), Mati Staniszewski (ElevenLabs), and Kaz Nejatian (Opendoor). ↩

  60. Y Combinator, company profile page for Pocket (Winter 2026 batch). Accessed June 2026. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/pocket — Primary YC source confirming Pocket as a Winter 2026 batch company and referencing the $11M seed round closing June 29, 2026. ↩

  61. Warp company announcement, “Warp raises $60M Series B from Battery Ventures,” June 25, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.warp.co/b — Primary source from Warp confirming Y Combinator participated in the $60M Series B led by Battery Ventures alongside Peak XV and Sound Ventures, plus named angels. ↩

  62. SiliconANGLE, “Warp lands $60M to automate payroll, compliance and HR with AI,” June 25, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/06/25/warp-lands-60m-automate-payroll-compliance-hr-ai/ — Independent confirmation Y Combinator participated alongside Peak XV, Sound Ventures, and HOF Capital in Warp’s $60M Series B led by Battery Ventures. ↩

  63. Axios Pro, “Exclusive: Warp raises $60m to go up against ADP, Rippling,” June 25, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.axios.com/pro/all-deals/2026/06/25/warp-60-million-workday-rippling — Third independent confirmation of YC participation in Warp’s $60M Series B. ↩

  64. Alex Konrad, “This YC Partner Just Raised $30 Million For An AI Startup Automating Paperwork For Biotech,” Forbes, January 13, 2025. Accessed July 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2025/01/13/yc-surbhi-sarna-raises-30-million-ai-life-sciences/ — Confirms 2025-01-13 seed announcement, $30M, Redpoint led, First Round + Conviction Partners + Y Combinator as participants, >$100M valuation. ↩

  65. Amy Feldman, “AI Startup Collate Raises $95 Million To Automate Life Sciences Paperwork,” Forbes InnovationRx, June 3, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/innovationrx/2026/06/03/ai-startup-collate-raises-95-million-to-automate-life-sciences-paperwork/ — Confirms 2026-06-03 announcement date, $95M Series B, Redpoint led, ~$1B valuation, $125M total, founders Surbhi Sarna and Nate Smith. Y Combinator did NOT follow on into the Series B. ↩

  66. Fortune, “Exclusive: Fleek, an online market for vintage garment wholesalers, raises $25 million in new funding,” July 8, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://fortune.com/2026/07/08/fleek-an-online-marketplace-connecting-vintage-clothing-wholesalers-and-retailers-raises-25-million-in-new-funding/ — Primary tier-1 press exclusive confirming Fleek’s Series B of USD 25M led by Burda Principal Investments on July 8, 2026, with eBay, FJ Labs, and H14 as new participants, alongside existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, and Y Combinator. Total funding to date USD 45M. ↩

  67. Retail Technology Innovation Hub, “London-based startup Fleek raises $25 million for AI powered secondhand fashion supply chain push,” July 7, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://retailtechinnovationhub.com/home/2026/7/7/london-based-startup-fleek-raises-25-million-for-ai-powered-secondhand-fashion-supply-chain-push — Independent industry press confirmation of Y Combinator as an existing backer of Fleek’s Series B. ↩

  68. TheNextWeb, “Fleek raises $25m to build the AI infrastructure behind global secondhand fashion,” July 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://thenextweb.com/news/fleek-25m-series-b-secondhand-fashion-ai — Third independent tier-1 tech press confirmation of USD 25M Series B on July 8, 2026 with Y Combinator listed in the full investor set. ↩

  69. Y Combinator company directory, “Fleek: A B2B marketplace for wholesale second hand fashion,” accessed July 2026. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fleek — Primary YC source confirming Fleek is a W22 batch company; founders Sanket Agarwal and Abhi Arora; London-based; 100 employees. ↩

  70. Y Combinator company directory, “Ollama: Get up and running with large language models,” accessed July 2026. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/ollama — Primary YC source confirming Ollama as a Winter 2021 (W21) batch company; founders Jeffrey Morgan and Michael Chiang. Also listed in Work at a Startup as “Ollama (W21).” https://www.workatastartup.com/companies/ollama↩

  71. Rebecca Bellan, “Popular open-source AI developer tool Ollama raises $65M, grows to nearly 9M users,” TechCrunch, July 9, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/popular-open-source-ai-developer-tool-ollama-raises-65m-grows-to-nearly-9m-users/ — Independent press confirming $65M Series B led by Theory Ventures on July 9, 2026; total raised now $88M. ↩

  72. Ollama, “Ollama: all aboard open models,” Ollama Blog, July 9, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://ollama.com/blog/all-aboard-open-models — Company announcement listing Y Combinator alongside Garage Capital, Pace Capital, 49 Palms, and GTMFund as prior/existing backers supporting the Series B. ↩

  73. “Singularity Emerges from Stealth with $80M Series A at $400M Valuation to Deploy Air Defense at Scale,” Business Wire, July 14, 2026. Accessed July 19, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260714185502/en/Singularity-Emerges-from-Stealth-with-$80M-Series-A-at-$400M-Valuation-to-Deploy-Air-Defense-at-Scale — Company press release names Y Combinator among Series A participants alongside AE Ventures, NEA, Long Journey, Harpoon, Menlo Ventures, Decisive Point, New Vista, Sunflower, and Soma. ↩

  74. Duncan Riley, “Singularity lands $80M at $400M valuation to build cheap drone interceptors,” SiliconANGLE, July 14, 2026. Accessed July 19, 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/07/14/singularity-lands-80m-400m-valuation-build-cheap-drone-interceptors/ — Independent tech press coverage confirming Y Combinator’s participation and the $400M valuation. ↩

  75. Dan Primack, “Air-defense startup Singularity secures $80 million,” Axios, July 14, 2026. Accessed July 19, 2026. https://www.axios.com/2026/07/14/singularity-air-defense-seriesa-venture-oswald — Third-party primary confirmation via Axios Pro Rata reporting. ↩