111 startups in this batch
This cohort marked a definitive shift in YC history as Sam Altman steered the accelerator toward hard tech, biotech, and moonshots. While the world was still obsessed with 'Uber for X,' this batch was busy building 3D-printed rockets and computational biochemistry platforms. It was an era of high ambition where founders began tackling legacy industries that had previously been ignored by Silicon Valley software cycles.
This batch proved that verticalized AI and specialized hardware could find product-market fit by solving deep operational pain in regulated sectors like healthcare and aerospace. They validated a massive willingness to pay for automation in complex workflows, such as programmatic ad optimization and predictive DNA design. These founders demonstrated that the next frontier of value wasn't just in social networks, but in digitizing the physical world and its underlying biological systems.
Many startups in this cohort struggled because they were too early for the infrastructure required to scale their specialized AI models, leading to high R&D costs and slow sales cycles. The primary failure point was often operational complexity; founders built sophisticated tech but couldn't overcome the friction of legacy industry adoption or the lack of cheap, accessible compute. Today's builders must ensure their tech solves a distribution problem, not just a technical one.
The most lucrative opportunity lies in rebuilding the automated agency model pioneered by companies like Automate Ads, but powered by autonomous AI agents. While W15 founders had to build custom optimization engines from scratch, a solo builder in 2026 can use LLMs to create a self-correcting marketing stack that manages strategy, creative, and spend without human intervention. The wedge is no longer the tool, but the autonomous outcome.
Using AI to predict biochemistry for manufacturing and therapeutics
On a mission to programmatically automate, optimize, and unify your…
Bluesmart makes smart luggage powered by an app to empower people to…
The world's first private mass transit service providing a commuting…
Cyberfend delivers robust, real-time web and mobile security by…
Dealyze helps national retailers build exceptional customer and…
Real-time Nielsen ratings for Brands.Accelerate marketing and product…
AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of American…
We design and build microbes to make chemicals greener at lower cost.
Under-the-mattress technology using precisely-timed vibrations to prevent night terrors in children.
MobyDish, a tech-enabled service, allowing anyone to place a catering…
NexTravel is a centralized travel booking platform that helps…
Create automated messages -- email, iOS/Android push, SMS and web…
We make it insanely easy to design, price, and manufacture custom…
The affordable way to search, find & communicate with an incarcerated…
Analytics software that helps companies measure organizational…
Software for collaborating with content creators and influencers
Inventor of the first roaming-photo booth + pro photography platform
Priime is a company dedicated to advancements in technology around…
Empowering brick-and-mortar retailers to sell more and engage shoppers
Our vision is to build the next generation of iOS or Android, to…
India's only full-stack financial solutions company for businesses.
We’re building a platform to empower cities to plan the best possible…
Replika is an AI friend that you can talk to designed to make you…
We help medical residency programs create and manage their schedules,…
Real-time communication solution for retail and restaurant employees.
SigOpt is an Optimization-as-a-Service platform that seamlessly tunes…
SparkGift makes it easy to send stocks and index funds as gifts to…
Tech in Asia (YC W15) is the largest English-language technology…
The Human Utility seeks to eliminate water service disconnections for…
Valor Water Analytics delivers a SaaS platform to utilities to detect…
We are making the smart carbon fibre commuting bike and platform for…
Marketplace for employers to recruit college students and recent grads
Web app that helps teams have more productive meetings by adopting good meeting habits.
YesGraph recommends exactly who a user should invite to an app. Our…
Inspection software for renewable energy & sustainable infrastructure
Medical device that provides a more effective, less invasive…