Y Combinator
AcceleratorSeed
Investment focus
Y Combinator funds pre-seed and seed-stage startups through an intensive batch program, providing capital, mentorship, and connections to help founders achieve product-market fit and scale. It backs founders at the earliest stages — including those with no product, revenue, or fully formed idea — betting on the people as much as the concept.
Founded2005
HQSan Francisco, California
RegionUS · SF Bay
Stagespre-seed · seed
Check size$500,000 per company (structured as $125,000 on a post-money SAFE for 7% equity plus $375,000 on an uncapped SAFE with MFN provision)
Sectors
AISaaSFintechDevToolsConsumer
Notable portfolio
AirbnbStripeCoinbaseDoorDashDropboxOpenAIRedditTwitch
Recent activity (2025–26)
- Starcloud — reached unicorn status ($170M Series A, March 2026, described by YC as its fastest unicorn to date at 17 months post-demo day)
- Meesho — Indian e-commerce platform IPO (December 2025, S16 batch)
- BillionToOne — genetic testing company IPO (November 2025, YC's fourth publicly traded biotech)
