Although often overlooked in early accounts, Jessica Livingston played a pivotal role in shaping Y Combinator's culture and success. As co-founder, she was instrumental in the organization's day-to-day operations and in selecting founders.[7]
In 2009, Y Combinator secured a $2 million investment led bySequoia Capital, enabling increased annual funding for around 60 companies.[8] Sequoia further supported YC in 2010 through an $8.25 million funding round, bolstering the organization's capability to accommodate a growing number of startups.[9] Concurrently, Kirsty Nathoo joined the team, initially as an accountant, and subsequently as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2012.[10] In 2011,Yuri Milner andSV Angel offered every Y Combinator company a $150,000 convertible note investment.[11] The amount put into each company was changed to $80,000 when Start Fund was renewed.[12]
Paul Graham talking about Prototype Day at Y Combinator Summer 2009Former headquarters in Mountain View
Advisory roles were assumed byHarj Taggar andAlexis Ohanian in 2010,[13] andPaul Buchheit and Taggar were named partners in November.[14]Michael Seibel joined Y Combinator as a part-time partner in January 2013 before becoming a full-time partner in 2014.[15] In September 2013, Y Combinator began funding nonprofit organizations that were accepted into the program after testing the concept withWatsi.[16]Sam Altman took part in Y Combinator's inaugural cohort in 2005 as a founder.[17] In 2014, Paul Graham appointed him as President.[18] Altman introduced a revised equity offering of $150,000 for a 7% stake.[19]
Global outreach became evident in 2016 as YC partners embarked on visits to 11 countries (Nigeria,Denmark,Portugal,Sweden,Germany,Russia,Argentina,Chile,Mexico,Israel, andIndia) to engage with founders and learn about international startup communities.[20] That summer, Altman returned to Y Combinator as a founder and worked onOpenAI.[21] Leadership responsibilities were delegated toAli Rowghani and Michael Seibel for YC Continuity and YC Core programs, respectively.[22] Startup School, introduced in 2017, provided startups with online courses and personalized coaching. More than 1500 startups graduated from the program in its first year.[23]
In 2018, Y Combinator announced a new batch of startup schools. After asoftware glitch, all 15,000 startups that applied to the program were accepted, only to learn a few hours later that they had been rejected.[24] In response to the ensuing outcry, Y Combinator accepted all 15,000 companies involved in the incident.[25][26] The same year,Qi Lu, a former CEO ofBing andBaidu, briefly assumed the role of CEO for YC China.[27] In November, YC announced Lu's departure and their decision to not pursue a program in China.[28] YC China later morphed intoMiraclePlus, an accelerator similar to YC, with Lu once again at the helm.
Adapting to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Y Combinator conducted its summer 2020 batch remotely.[31] In January 2022, a revised standard deal of $500,000 was introduced, comprising $125,000 for a 7% equity stake and an additional $375,000 via an uncapped safe mechanism incorporating aMost Favored Nation (MFN) clause.[32] The summer of 2022 saw a deliberate reduction in the startup intake by 40%, from 414 companies to 250.
In January 2023,Garry Tan assumed the positions of president and CEO, succeeding Geoff Ralston.[33][34][35] Tan's leadership marked the discontinuation of the YC Continuity growth fund.[36]
YC moved its headquarters fromMountain View toSan Francisco in the spring of 2023.[37] It had been considering such a move since 2019.[38]
In March 2024, Seibel stepped down as managing director.[39]
Y Combinator interviews and selects four batches of companies per year.[40] The companies receive a total of $500,000 inseed money as well as advice and connections. The $500,000 in funding is made up of $125,000 on a post-moneySAFE in return for 7%equity and $375,000 on an uncapped SAFE with a "most favored nation" ("MFN") provision (i.e.: "we get the same best terms you give anyone else in the next round").[41] Non-profits receive a $100,000 donation.[42] The program includes "office hours", where startup founders meet individually and participate in group meetings. Founders also participate in weekly meetups where guests from theSilicon Valley ecosystem (successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, etc.) speak to the founders.[citation needed]
Y Combinator's program is designed to teach founders how to market their product, refine their teams and business models, achieveproduct/market fit, and scale the startup into ahigh growth business, etc. The program ends with "Demo Day", where startups present their business and technology prototypes to potential investors.[43][non-primary source needed]
Y Combinator operates additional programs and a fund designed to support and invest in startups that have already graduated from the main accelerator program. The Series A Program, YC Post-A Program, and YC Growth Program are operated by the same team and focus on helping fast-growing YC startups, and startups raising their Series B funding of $20 million to $100 million.[44][45][non-primary source needed]
Y Combinator has introduced additional programs since 2015, including:
In July 2015, Y Combinator introduced the YC Fellowship Program, aimed at companies at an earlier stage than the main program.[46] The first batch of YC Fellowship included 32 companies that received an equity-free grant instead of an investment.[47] In January 2016, YC changed the program, with participating companies receiving $20k investment for a 1.5 percent equity stake. The equity stake is structured as aconvertible security that converts into shares only if a company has aninitial public offering (IPO), or a funding event or acquisition that values the company at $100 million or more.[48] The fellowship was discontinued in 2017.[49]
In October 2015, Y Combinator introduced the now-defunct YC Continuity Fund. The fund allowed Y Combinator to makepro rata investments in their alumni companies. The program was shut down, and staff were laid off in March 2023.[50]
During 2017–2019, YC launched Startup School, the Series A program, the YC Growth program, Work at a Startup, and YC China.[51][non-primary source needed]
As of 2025, Y Combinator had invested in over 5,000 companies,[2] most of which are for-profit, holding a combined valuation of $600 billion.[52] Non-profit organizations can also participate in the main YC program.[53] Few non-profits have been accepted in the last years, among themWatsi,Women Who Code,New Story,SIRUM,Zidisha,80,000 Hours, andOur World in Data.[54]
In October 2015, YC introducedYC Research to fund long-term fundamental research. Altman donated $10m. Researchers were paid as full-time employees and can receive equity in Y Combinator.[55][56][57]
OpenAI was the first project undertaken by YC Research, and in January 2016, a second study onbasic income was also announced.[58] Another project was research on new cities.[59]
The Human Advancement Research Community (HARC) project was set up in 2016 with the "mission to ensure human wisdom exceeds human power".[60][61] The project was inspired by a conversation between Altman andAlan Kay.[62] Its projects included modelling, visualizing and teaching software, as well as programming languages. Members included Alan Kay,Dan Ingalls,Bret Victor,Vi Hart, andPatrick Scaglia.[63][64] HARC was shut down in 2017.[65]
Australian quantum physicistMichael Nielsen was a research fellow at YC Research from 2016 to 2019.[66]
YC Research disaffiliated with Y Combinator and was renamed toOpen Research in 2020.[67][68]
