Y Combinator is an investor in startup companies and initiatives. It provides $500,000 to each company in which it decides to invest after a vetting process. It invests in companies that have not been launched as well as those that have been in operation for a year or more.

Since 2005, Y Combinator has invested in over 4,000 companies that as of 2023 had a combined evaluation of over $600 billion.

Y Combinator has a startup directory on its website. It allows readers to sort by demographic characteristics including “Black-founded,” “Hispanic & Latino-founded,” and “women-founded.” Besides tech companies, Y Combinator also funds nonprofit organizations, many of them left-of-center activist groups.

Y Combinator was founded by roboticist Trevor Blackwell, web developer Paul Graham, investor Jessica Livingston, and computer science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Robert Morris.

Activities

Y Combinator acts as an accelerator to startups. It invests $500,000 in companies that it decides are worthy of investment after a vetting process. Its $500,000 investment is split into two “safes”: $125,000 on a post-money safe in return for 7 percent of the recipient company, and $375,000 on an uncapped safe with a Most Favored Nation provision. It invests in both companies that have not been launched yet as well as those that have been in operation for a year or more. ¹

Y Combinator runs Bookface, a platform in which company founders can connect with each other, introduce new projects they are working on, and share information and opportunities. Winners are allowed access to Y Combinator’s extensive community of past startups and founders, and the leadership of Y Combinator follows up with the companies to hear about their progress. In addition to receiving Y Combinator funding, recipients are allowed to give demonstrations on their startups to an audience of investors and members of the press to help the startups gain recognition. ²

Funding

Since 2005, Y Combinator has invested in over 4,000 companies that as of 2023 had a combined evaluation of over $600 billion. ³

Y Combinator has a startup directory on its website. It allows readers to sort companies by demographic characteristics such as “Black-founded,” “Hispanic & Latino-founded,” and “women-founded. ⁴

Besides tech companies, Y Combinator also funds nonprofit organizations, many of them left-of-center activist groups. Some of these have included BayesImpact, Centre for Effective Altruism, Democracy Earth, DemocracyOS, Degrees of Freedom, DevColor, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), One Degree, New Story, Recidiviz, SunFarmer, Votingworks, Vote.org, Verano Health, Women Who Code, and Zidisha. ⁵

People

Y Combinator was founded by roboticist Trevor Blackwell, web developer Paul Graham, investor Jessica Livingston, and computer science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Robert Morris. All four founders are now retired from the organization. As of 2023, the president and CEO was Garry Tan, who had worked for Y Combinator as an employee developing Bookface and Demo Day. ⁶

1. “About.” Y Combinator. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.ycombinator.com/about.
2. “About.” Y Combinator. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.ycombinator.com/about
3. “Startup Directory.” Y Combinator. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies
4.  “Startup Directory.” Y Combinator. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies.
5. “Startup Directory.” Y Combinator. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies.
6. “People.” Y Combinator. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.ycombinator.com/people.