116 startups in this batch
W17 landed at a pivot point where the "Uber for X" era ended and YC began betting heavily on hard tech, industrial automation, and specialized AI. While the world grappled with political shifts—evidenced by the ACLU's inclusion—founders were focused on moving beyond simple consumer apps toward complex infrastructure and global fintech.
This cohort proved that verticalized computer vision could solve high-stakes physical security and that cross-border fintech could scale in emerging markets via mobile-first credit. They validated that industrial-grade hardware could be commoditized and that niche SaaS could survive by targeting high-friction, regulated industries like healthcare and legal services.
Many W17 startups struggled with the high capital intensity of hardware and the "human-in-the-loop" bottlenecks of early machine learning. The assumption that proprietary datasets alone would create an unassailable moat often broke as open-source models leveled the playing field, proving that distribution and workflow integration matter more than the model itself.
The "AI Radiologist" or "AI Security Guard" models from W17 were limited by 2017's brittle computer vision; today, multimodal LLMs can replace the expensive manual labeling they required. A solo builder can now relaunch these vertically integrated AI services as pure software plays, using agentic workflows to handle the complex reasoning that previously required massive operations teams.
We connect products to the internet using an invisible, chip-less tag
Leading audio subscription platform for Spanish content and creators
Customer support as a service using machine intelligence with human supervision.
An AI-powered operating system that consolidates farm data to help specialty crop farmers measure yield, quality, costs, and performance through automated data management and peer benchmarking.
B2B global supply chain and procurement platform offering industrial products, MRO goods, logistics, and invoice financing for enterprises and governments.
Modern bill payment platform for African businesses and consumers.
Fitbit for dairy cows. Farms use cowlar's alerts & recommendations to…
Firsthand makes software-enabled, self-serve retail kiosks that carry…
Next-generation mRNA platform to solve cancer, COVID and climate.
Enabling T cell immunotherapy discovery, development and manufacturing
Modern employee benefits & health savings account (HSA) provider
Predict job applicant performance for entry-level support roles
Marketing automation platform optimized for mobile and web that simplifies marketing with AI.
App that turns selfie photos into thousand emoji that look like you…
Neema is an app for unbanked workers, which provides a checking…
The future of office coffee. Keurig convenience meets cafe quality.
SEO and AI search optimization agency providing data-driven strategies for visibility across Google and AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
We make healthcare in emerging markets affordable and accessible
Automatically extracts valuable insights from customer service conversations using AI and natural language processing.
AI-powered platform that automatically documents workflows and processes to create step-by-step guides.
Sleep Reset is a clinically proven CBT-i program for better sleep
AI-powered platform for real estate agents to qualify leads, set appointments, enrich property data, and automate outreach.
SourceBeacon is an on-demand procurement concierge for sourcing…
AI-powered language tutor app focused on spoken fluency through personalized conversations and real-time feedback.
AI notetaker that dials into phone calls for real-time transcription, summarization, and note sharing.
We're your non-profit portfolio managers. We make giving to…
Volt Health is developing medical devices that deliver electrical…
We are Alibaba of Africa. We are building a marketplace for African…
We allow anyone in South East Asia to instantly order any product…