Y Combinator
Mentioned in 82 analyzed podcast episodes across 10 shows
A prominent startup accelerator founded by Paul Graham, known for launching companies across sectors including AI, robotics, and fintech. Y Combinator is frequently referenced in podcasts as a quality signal for startup credibility, a benchmark for investment terms, and a source of startup strategy and scaling philosophy. The organization hosts its own podcast featuring discussions on startup trends and emerging technologies, and is currently led by Gary Tan.
Mentioned On
Episode Mentions
This Week in Startups · May 29, 2026
How to Raise a Seed Round in 2026: Ask Jason | E2294
“Recommended as accelerator program for early-stage startups seeking initial funding”
This Week in Startups · May 27, 2026
The Drone Company Quietly Taking Over Delivery
“Accelerator that backed Theseus as their first defense tech company”
Pivot · May 15, 2026
Trump’s China Summit, Inflation Shock, and Silicon Valley’s Midterm Money
“Holds passive stake in OpenAI; Sam Altman's affiliation relevant to trial testimony”
Macrodosing: Arian Foster and PFT Commenter · May 14, 2026
Elon Musk Vs. OpenAI (ft. Zac) | May 14, 2026
“Sam Altman was head of this startup incubator before co-founding OpenAI”
Uncapped with Jack Altman · May 12, 2026
Uncapped #49 | Kevin Hartz & Bennett Siegel from A*
“Referenced for data on young founder trends; current batches have many teenage and early-20s founders”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · May 8, 2026
Tokenmaxxing: How Top Builders Use AI To Do The Work Of 400 Engineers
“Gary Tan is President of YC; episode discusses how YC founders can leverage AI tools for rapid development”
The Vergecast · May 8, 2026
Everybody wants to rule the AI world
“Sam Altman was CEO; OpenAI was initially proposed as Y Combinator company”
Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice · May 8, 2026
With $50K Left and a 40% Failure Rate, How FightCamp Rebuilt After the COVID Boom and Bust
“Early-stage investor/accelerator that funded FightCamp and taught the principle that 'growth solves 80% of your problems'”
What's Next｜科技早知道 · May 8, 2026
探访 Hacker House：硅谷年轻人，正在搬进「AI 创业宿舍」| S10E10
“Traditional seed-stage accelerator referenced as earlier value capture point compared to Hacker Houses”
Tech Brew Ride Home · May 5, 2026
Will AI Models Have To Be Reviews By The Government?
“Owns approximately 0.6% of OpenAI worth $5+ billion; Sam Altman was president before becoming OpenAI CEO, raising disclosure concerns”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Apr 29, 2026
How to Build the Future: Demis Hassabis
“Host of the podcast and startup accelerator; Hassabis advises on deep tech startup strategy and AI application opportunities”
Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell · Apr 28, 2026
Luana Lopes Lara: Youngest Self-Made Woman Billionaire on Kalshi, Bitcoin & Beating the Feds
“Accelerator where guest and co-founder participated; Michael Seibel provided key advice on ignoring experts”
The a16z Show · Apr 28, 2026
John and Patrick Collison on Stripe's Growth, Agent Commerce, and the Future of Software
“Referenced as incubator where hosts and Collisons were involved; context for Atlas and Tempo incubation model”
The Vergecast · Apr 28, 2026
Musk and Altman go to court
“Sam Altman's previous employer; mentioned as source of his extensive network across tech industry”
This Week in Startups · Apr 25, 2026
The Defense Tech Startup YC Kicked Out of a Meeting is Now Arming America | E2280
“Kicked Firehawk Aerospace out of in-person interview in 2020 when defense tech was unpopular”
Tech Won't Save Us · Apr 23, 2026
The Problem with "CEO Said a Thing" Journalism w/ Karl Bode
“Sam Altman's previous role where he used position to advance himself before being forced out”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Apr 22, 2026
Stripe Head of Design Katie Dill Breaks Down Their New Website
“Hosts the podcast; mentioned as context for startup audience and YC companies using Stripe”
A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders · Apr 16, 2026
She bet on a consumer app when every VC wanted B2B—then grew to $10M ARR. | Anada Lakra, Founder of BoldVoice
“Accelerator program that BoldVoice participated in during Summer 2021, providing mentorship and demo day platform”
Prof G Markets · Apr 15, 2026
Violent Backlash: What the Sam Altman Attacks Signal for AI
“Sam Altman previously headed organization; used to build momentum in AI space”
Better Offline · Apr 15, 2026
More, Everything, Forever With Adam Becker
“Gary Tan (head) created G Stack using Claude; example of billionaire AI experimentation without clear utility”
Hard Fork · Apr 10, 2026
Anthropic’s Cybersecurity Shock Wave + Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on Their Sam Altman Investigation + One Good Thing
“Sam Altman's former organization where he built relationships and investment portfolio of ~400 companies”
Prof G Markets · Apr 8, 2026
Trump Threatened to End Iranian Civilization — What Comes Next?
“Startup accelerator where Altman served as president; sources describe his deceptive behavior patterns”
This Week in Startups · Apr 3, 2026
AI Rebuilt Every YC W26 Startup. Should Founders Be Scared? | E2271
“Startup accelerator whose Winter 2026 batch companies were replicated by Felt Sense's AI agents as demonstration”
TBPN · Apr 3, 2026
Open AI Acquires TBPN, Artemis II, The AI-Built $1.8B Company | Diet TBPN
“Startup accelerator where host took second company; Sam Altman was president at the time”
Mile Higher · Apr 2, 2026
387: His Parents Demand Answers... Did OpenAI Cover-Up Suchir Balaji's Death?
“Startup accelerator community; anonymous founder quoted as believing Balaji was murdered based on case facts”
TBPN · Apr 1, 2026
Eddy Cue Joins for Apple's 50th, Artemis Launch, Jamie Dimon's Plan, Save Snap Now, SpaceX IPO | Aaron Terrazas, Pratap Ranade, Abhishek Das, Garry Tan, Brannin McBee, Sam Yagan
“Gary Tan discussed AI's impact on founder productivity and startup formation; launched G-Stack open-source tool”
The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens · Apr 1, 2026
Scrambling for Energy Security: Navigating Unstable Energy Supplies Amidst Global Conflict with Chris Keefer
“Venture capital firm backing nuclear startups; criticized for applying software disruption playbook to nuclear hardware”
This Week in Startups · Mar 27, 2026
The $60 billion resource hiding in space, and the start trying to mine it (feat. Matt Gialich, Astroforge) | E2268
“Accelerator program that Templar and Open Oats founders participated in”
Relentless · Mar 23, 2026
Brian Armstrong — It's Wartime, All the Time
“Startup accelerator where Armstrong pitched Coinbase and received mentorship”
This Week in Startups · Mar 20, 2026
The Drone Company Everyone Thought Was Illegal (Now Worth $4B+) | E2265
“Accelerator program that Rapportive participated in”
AI + a16z · Mar 10, 2026
Replit's CEO on Vibe Coding, Wealth Building, and What Most People Get Wrong About AI
“Startup accelerator that Replit applied to multiple times before being accepted through Paul Graham”
The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis · Mar 9, 2026
Autoresearch, Agent Loops and the Future of Work
“President Gary Tan wrote about auto research and made connections to Ralph Wiggum loops”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Mar 9, 2026
How To Build The Future: Max Hodak
“Startup accelerator where Hodak participated in his early career”
"The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis · Mar 8, 2026
Try this at Home: Jesse Genet on OpenClaw Agents for Homeschool & How to Live Your Best AI Life
“Startup accelerator where Jesse's company Lumi went through the program in 2015”
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth · Mar 8, 2026
The most successful AI company you’ve never heard of | Qasar Younis
“Qasar served as COO and saw hundreds of startups, informing his traction philosophy”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Mar 6, 2026
How To Avoid AI Design Slop
“Startup accelerator hosting the podcast and reviewing portfolio company websites”
The Pragmatic Engineer · Mar 4, 2026
Building Claude Code with Boris Cherny
“Startup accelerator where Boris worked at an early medical software company”
Living Your Legacy · Feb 28, 2026
Tech Industry Leader: The 4x4 Blueprint for Building Success
“Referenced as having higher success rates among startups; implies strategic planning and execution differentiate YC companies”
Masters in Business · Feb 27, 2026
Financial Products for Hedging with Vest Co-Founder Jeff Chang
“Startup accelerator where Vest was accepted in 2015; largest asset manager to emerge from YC”
AI & I · Feb 25, 2026
Meet the Student With No Teachers, No Homework—Just AI
“Startup accelerator referenced in context of Alex's friend's project idea for influencer entrepreneurship”
How I Invest with David Weisburd · Feb 25, 2026
E312: The Power Law of Reputation in Venture Capital
“Founded by Paul Graham; Weisburd attended first demo day in Boston; early relationship with Graham before YC became prominent”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Feb 21, 2026
The AI Agent Economy Is Here
“Host organization discussing potential motto change to 'make something agents want'”
Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin · Feb 18, 2026
Lucy Guo’s Billionaire Playbook: Startup Secrets, Hidden Money Rules, and the Power of FOMO
“Startup accelerator mentioned as quality signal for investments”
Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF · Feb 18, 2026
The Biggest Money Mistake Women Make (And How to Avoid It) Ft. Zarna & Zoya Garg
“Zoya worked at a Y Combinator startup during her college internships in Silicon Valley”
Better Offline · Feb 18, 2026
Hater Season: Caleb Wilson, Juniper and Arif Hasan
“Gary Tan runs Y Combinator and launched 'Gary's List' promoting radical centrism; criticized for anti-union positions”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Feb 14, 2026
The New Way To Build A Startup
“Host organization of the podcast discussing startup trends and strategies”
This Week in Startups · Feb 12, 2026
Why J-Cal Invested to 200K in a former Employee | E2249
“Accelerator program compared to Speedrun in terms of deal structure and requirements”
This Week in Startups · Feb 12, 2026
How These 3 Founders are building on Open Claw | E2248
“Accelerator program referenced for standard investment terms comparison”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Feb 7, 2026
OpenClaw And The Future Of Personal AI Agents
“Hosting platform for this podcast episode; mentioned as startup accelerator accepting applications”
Y Combinator Startup Podcast · Feb 6, 2026
We're All Addicted To Claude Code
“Hosts this podcast; mentioned for its engineering team's 50-50 split on security permission practices”