Y Combinator
Mentioned in 61 analyzed podcast episodes across 10 shows
A prominent startup accelerator founded by Paul Graham that invests in and mentors early-stage companies, particularly those in AI and technology sectors. Y Combinator is widely referenced in podcast discussions as a quality signal for startup credibility, a benchmark for investment terms, and a source of founder insights on building scalable companies. The organization also hosts its own podcast series featuring startup trends, AI innovation, and advice for entrepreneurs.
Mentioned On
Episode Mentions
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”
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”
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”
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”
Starter Story · Feb 4, 2026
We turned one video into a $30K/month app | Starter Story
“Alejandro and Mario met through YC Co-founder match program, which facilitated their partnership”
This Week in Startups · Feb 3, 2026
Where early-stage founders MUST focus to success | E2244
“Mentioned as destination for Foundry University graduates and reference for startup advice”
Uncanny Valley | WIRED · Feb 3, 2026
Big Intv: Fallout Director Jonathan Nolan Says He's Still a Techno-Optimist
“Sam Altman's organization, attendees were at Westworld pilot screening”
TBPN · Feb 3, 2026
Full Interview: Moltbook Creator’s First Appearance Since Launch
“Startup accelerator the guest previously attended and wants to issue RFS for Moltbook”
Economist Podcasts · Jan 31, 2026
Boss Class 1. Fat layer of humans
“Startup accelerator where Tom Blomfield works, with over half of current intake being AI startups”
Relentless · Jan 29, 2026
The Future of Home Robots | Mehul Nariyawala, Matic
“Accelerator where Mehul's previous company Flutter participated, Paul Graham's teachings cited”
AI + a16z · Jan 23, 2026
How Mintlify Is Rebuilding Documentation for Coding Agents
The a16z Show · Jan 23, 2026
How Mintlify Is Rebuilding Documentation for Coding Agents
This Week in Startups · Jan 21, 2026
From Blood Transfusions to Burritos, How Zipline is Automating Delivery | E2238
Starter Story · Jan 21, 2026
[DELETED ON YOUTUBE] How I Used Reddit to Build a $34K/Month SaaS
“Mentioned as context for viral Reddit post about failing YC interview; generated 179K views and 15 customers”
This Week in Startups · Jan 16, 2026
Avoiding buzzwords and marketing-speak (feat. Thomas McInerney) | E2236
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth · Jan 15, 2026
How to show up in any room with a low heart rate: Silicon Valley’s missing etiquette playbook | Sam Lessin
“Sam taught an etiquette class to YC founders at the Four Seasons, which sparked the broader etiquette project”
This Week in Startups · Jan 14, 2026
Japan’s Startup Revolution (feat. Kathy Matsui) | E2235
TBPN · Jan 14, 2026
Siri needs an App, OpenAI Acquires health startup Torch, Claude Cowork reactions | Diet TBPN
The a16z Show · Jan 9, 2026
Ben Horowitz on Raising a New Fund and How Venture Firms Scale
Uncapped with Jack Altman · Jan 9, 2026
Uncapped #38 | Ben Horowitz from a16z
“Referenced for research showing companies with boards outperform those without boards”
Pivot · Jan 9, 2026
Trump's Venezuela Oil Gambit, ICE Shooting Fallout, and Warner Bros. Says No (Again)
“Paul Graham, founder, publicly criticized Elon Musk's claims about ICE shooting victim attempting to run over officer”
Tech Won't Save Us · Jan 8, 2026
We All Suffer from OpenAI’s Pursuit of Scale w/ Karen Hao [Replay]
“Organization where Sam Altman served as president before OpenAI, shaping his scaling and empire-building philosophy”
Elon Musk Podcast · Dec 30, 2025
Billionaires are following Elon Musk out of California
Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing) · Dec 26, 2025
Peter Norvig: Transforming AI Into the Ultimate Human Advantage | Artificial Intelligence | AI Vault
“Norvig has worked with Y Combinator; referenced for startup philosophy of 'make something people want'”
Starter Story · Dec 20, 2025
We built a $30K/month app from 1 piece of content
“Alejandro and Mario met through YC Co-founder Match, which facilitated their partnership”