Y Combinator
Mentioned in 99 analyzed podcast episodes across 10 shows
A prominent startup accelerator founded by Paul Graham, known for selecting and funding early-stage companies across various sectors including AI startups. Discussed across podcasts for its role as a quality signal for investments, its standard deal structures, and notable alumni outcomes, as well as its current leadership under Gary Tan. The organization hosts its own podcast series covering startup trends, strategies, and the evolving landscape of AI-driven entrepreneurship.
Mentioned On
Episode Mentions
Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips · Aug 12, 2026
The Best Marketers Are Becoming Part-Time Engineers
“Gary Tan from YC cited for arguing that speed itself can be considered a business moat.”
This Week in Startups · Aug 3, 2026
How Bespoke faked AI until it actually worked (w/ Akemi Tsunagawa) | E2320
“Referenced for Paul Graham's 'do things that don't scale' principle, applied to Bespoke's early human-in-the-loop chatbot approach.”
The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis · Jul 28, 2026
Big Tech Unites for Open Source AI—and Against Anthropic
“Most prominent member of the Little Tech Association, which urged the administration not to ban Chinese open source.”
Software Engineering Daily · Jul 28, 2026
The Startup Scene in Southeast Asia
“Referenced for cohort composition shifts showing fewer regional copycat founders and more global technical founders”
TBPN · Jul 27, 2026
Open Source vs. Closed Source, NVIDIA Backs SSI, YC Startup School Fills Stadium | Diet TBPN
“Hosted a massive Startup School event in a stadium featuring Jensen Huang, sparking debate about brand dilution.”
TBPN · Jul 27, 2026
Letter Enthusiasts, Open Source vs. Closed Source, Mega-Startup School | Luke Knight & Ronan Chambers, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jonathan Jacobi, Dean Meyer, Brent Franson, Matej Cernosek, Justin Boitano
“Hosted a massive Startup School stadium event with 4,500+ attendees, sparking debate about brand and founder culture.”
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth · Jul 26, 2026
Anthropic’s first technical PM on token maxing, the jagged edge, and living in the future | Dianne Penn
“Gary Tan, YC president, cited for his 'token maxing' thesis about living in 2028 by spending $100K/year on tokens.”
This Week in Startups · Jul 22, 2026
Why this longevity startup raised in Japan, not Silicon Valley | TWiST Tokyo | E2315
“Mentioned as a top accelerator that Founder University alumni have progressed into.”
The Digital Executive · Jul 16, 2026
Moody Abdul: The Admin Is Killing Therapy. AI Is the Fix. | Ep 1288
“Leading startup accelerator that backed Clarify”
The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis · Jul 15, 2026
5 AI Engineering Trends for Non-Engineers
“President Gary Tan keynoted on skills engineering as integral to AI-native organizations”
Platformer · Jul 15, 2026
He tried 200 to-do apps so you don't have to
“Gary Tan mentioned as example of performative AI productivity claims on social media”
Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson · Jul 10, 2026
(Preview) Meta and Its Messaging Problem, The XBOX Reset, Q&A on Token Costs, American Soccer, Starlink in Nature
“Referenced as startup culture that Zuckerberg appears to aspire to, contrasting with his role as CEO of major corporation”
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg · Jul 3, 2026
AI Sovereignty Wars, Palantir-Nvidia Deal, SCOTUS Birthright Ruling, Newsom's CA Budget Lie
“Sam Altman's $2M free token offer to YC startups flagged as a strategy to harvest startup innovation for OpenAI.”
The Money Mondays · Jun 15, 2026
How Rance 1500 Turned Music, Culture & Relationships Into Wealth 🎤 E168
“Venture capital accelerator referenced in context of VC terminology and startup ecosystem”
How I Invest with David Weisburd · Jun 12, 2026
E389: The Future of Investing: Data Centers, AI & the Next Trillion-Dollar Companies
“Incubator that backed orbital data center startup two years ago; example of venture-backed space infrastructure”
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”
Platformer · May 27, 2026
Claude Code creator Boris Cherny on the end of the software engineer
“Boris spoke at latest batch; observed 50% of startups using 100% Claude-generated code”
Big Technology Podcast · May 20, 2026
Claude Code Head Boris Cherny: Insane Growth, Tokenmaxxing, AI Agents' Next Frontier
“Startup incubator where Boris recently spoke about Claude Code adoption among founders”
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”